Whiplash Review

To achieve his second feature film (first presented as a short film in 2013), Damien Chazelle started from his own jazz drummer experience when he was at the conservatory. Here he puts on stage his relationship with his extremely demanding teacher , fear of missing, failing the and all efforts to endure to achieve excellence. With Whiplash, he makes the relationship  master / student a real duel, a battlefield where the student suffered from physical and mental abuse of his teacher, with a vision to achieve perfection through suffering. A film as surprising as extreme.

Andrew (Miles Teller)19 year old dreams of becoming one of the best jazz drummers of his generation . But the competition is tough in Manhattan Conservatory where he trains hard. He aims to integrate the flagship orchestra led by Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons), fierce and intractable professor. When he finally notices the young drummer, Andrew starts under his leadership in the pursuit of excellence.


First plan: the camera moves in a dark hallway. Basically, over-regulated by the outlines of the door, a boy plays drums. The camera continues to progress towards the drummer such a hunter and its prey. This is Terence Fletcher, one of the teachers of the Manhattan Conservatory. His appearance interrupts Andrew, the young drummer, in his impetus.
Since a confrontation between the two main protagonists of the film is taking place. Andrew, under the requests and the look of Terence, which already manipulates him, resumes playing. Mounting rhythm, alternating plans, Focusing on the two characters' faces, speed and dynamism that creates a particular shot /reverse shot.

The music stops abruptly, Terence Fletcher has just left the room. It does not take long to Whiplash to carry the viewer into a powerful and ferocious wave. In just a few masterful minutes, foundations are set up.


Damien Chazelle for his film treats with staging perfectly suited to his subject. Whiplash therefore follows the journey of Andrew and his dream to become the best jazz drummer of his generation . The director uses simple methods such as a slight low-angle shot on Terence, which emphasizes the dominance of the latter on Andrew. He remains in a high-angle shot , sitting on his drum seat and subjected to custodial situations. 
Despite what might suggest the introductory scene Andrew starts at the lowest level. He officiates as a substitute drummer, often limited to having to turn the pages of the holder of the first year orchestra. When Terence Fletcher notices him and invites him to join his orchestra, Andrew is far from winning his place. Whiplash develops a surprising speech, where only the hard work allows us to go beyond excellence. Numerous times the example of famous saxophonist Charlie Parker is quoted: after a humiliation he worked hard to become one of the greatest saxophonists in jazz history.


The humiliation seems to be an adequate motivation tool. In any case that is what Terence Fletcher chose to apply among his students. JK Simmons, who brilliantly interprets him,reveals a tyrannical, vicious and insulting professor. Fletcher pushes his students to end, until exhaustion or worse. And that's what is really fascinating in the film. Because no student wants to give up. They have themselves a share of madness (responsibility?) because they are willing to endure the worst atrocities of their teacher. The latter takes advantage of the situations and adopts two different behaviours. Sometimes friendly and attentive, he only manipulates to use the weaknesses of Andrew, always with the aim of having him to transcend himself. The atmosphere is heavy. An effect produced by the particular map scale (amount of close-ups), the global scenery (much of the film takes place during rehearsals in a school's studios), and dark colors and (black, brown, pale yellow).

In front of JK Simmons there is Miles Teller also amazing and metamorphosed. The young actor is changing its character through his body. Often curved, he contains and folds on himself. Physical and mental pain is visible on his face that bears scars. Obviously we have to wait the last scene to see the final duel between the two protagonists. One last unleashed sequence that leaves you speechless. It is an echo of the first scene. While Andrew is playing, Terrence officiate the orchestra. Now the shot / reverse-angled shot is not punctuated by cuts. The assembly is connected by a panoramic camera movement passing from one character to another. The tension is at its peak we wonder if one of them will eventually crack. Whiplash is transformed into an action film. The last part of the film is final battle with a lot of twists and surprises. Everything is accompanied by rhythmic and catchy music and virtuoso jazz compositions.

Whiplash is clearly emerging as one of the best films made on music. Damien Chazelle manages to take us on a land far from the most affordable. Jazz is not the most popular musical style. It makes it perfectly accessible with titles like Whiplash of Hank Levy, composer especially for the big bands of Stan Kenton and Don Ellis, and Caravan  composed by Juan Tizol  made famous thanks to various interpretations by Duke Ellington's Orchestra. The director is going to make us vibrate on this his devilish perfectly controlled sound.
Obviously Whiplash evokes Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987). Fletcher reminds in its attitude and staging of the instructor Sergeant Hartman (Lee Ermey), and the humiliation he inflicted on a section of Marines during the Vietnam War. As in the masterpiece of Kubrick there is indignation over the attitude of those in power. But by agreeing to submit to him, the students do not get our compassion. 

Whiplash (2014)

 107 min  |  Drama, Music

Director: Damien Chazelle

Writer:    Damien Chazelle

Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist