Derek Winnert

Whiplash ***** (2014, Miles Teller, J K Simmons, Melissa Benoist) – Movie Review

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Miles Teller and J K Simmons are extraordinary as promising young drummer Andrew and his jazz band instructor Fletcher locking horns at a New York cutthroat music conservatory. The ambitious boy’s dreams of greatness are mentored by a sadistic and abusive man who will stop at nothing to realise a student’s potential.

Damien Chazelle, the writer of The Last Exorcism Part II and Grand Piano, gets his chance to direct too, with this electrifying, can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it movie. It’s so gripping and surprising that it plays like a sweaty-palm thriller. It’s based on his own 2013 short that also starred Simmons.

2

This brilliant movie, with its central emotional S&M relationship, is hugely entertaining and enormously surprising. The relationship is in one way basically sick and perverted, but the film-maker keeps a cleverly ambiguous and provocative attitude to it. In the end, it’s about who’s going to gain the upper hand, the boy or the man?  And it’s also about all the usual polite stuff you have to ditch on your way to greatness, if you can…

3

Never has drumming or a movie about drumming seemed so fascinating. Come to that, are there any other movies about drumming? Probably not. In any case, this film is unique. An Oscar buzz surrounds Simmons as Best Supporting Actor. He deserves it, but so would Teller as Best Actor and that seems out of his reach. But, you never know. Good luck, guys! In the event, Simmons triumphed at the Academy Awards by scoring a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

4

Melissa Benoist plays Andrew’s girlfriend Nicole and Paul Reiser is his dad, Jim. They’re good in support, but nobody else really gets a look in in the Teller and Simmons Show. Give them a sequel, straight away!

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com/

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