WHIPLASH (2014)
How abusive is this instructor? He hurls chairs at his students, berates them with homophobic slurs, and punishes the drummers to such an extent that their hands are bloodied at the end of an exhausting rehearsal session. The late Who drummer Keith Moon might have thrown a chair at this instructor or set fire to his own cymbals in protest. J.K. Simmons is Terence Fletcher, a notable jazz conductor at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory in New York. Fletcher is looking for the next Buddy Rich, the legendary jazz drummer with a short temper, but he is of little faith in students whom he considers wimps. As a pretext, Fletcher recounts the story of how legendary drummer Jo Jones threw a cymbal at the young alto saxophonist, Charles “Yardbird” Parker. As Terence tells it, if Parker had simply been told, “Good job,” he might not have reached the depths of his own power of playing the sax – the Bird might not have excelled and perfected his techniques. Salient observation, but does throwing chairs and slapping students help them to excel and go beyond their futile attempts to impress the teacher? I should think not (some current jazz musicians and teachers consider the movie to be a little too over-the-top.)
Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is the harangue upon, abused and exasperated drummer who aspires to be Buddy Rich and relentlessly plays Hank Levy’s classic “Whiplash” with great ferocity and passion. Neyman is probably good enough, but Mr. Fletcher sees more behind the kid’s talent. The kid could be great, not just solidly good or perhaps “mediocre.” Fletcher’s abusive tactics are his way of seeing behind the students’ masks, manipulating their familial problems to his advantage to get the best out of his them. Neyman himself is not an easy kid to like – he assumes he will be great and has a superiority complex to most of his family. He has trouble maintaining a dating relationship with a movie theatre concession stand clerk (Melissa Benoist from TV’s “Supergirl”) because he has to work as hard as Charlie Parker, sometimes 15 hours a day. His hands bleed and, in one climactic moment prior to a jazz competition, he gets into a car accident and still manages to play, well, just barely while he suffers a head wound followed by a physical assault on Fletcher.
The tyrannical Fletcher doesn’t display many emotions except anger and violence. Every time we see him appear, my stomach felt as if a weight was placed in it and my hands got sweaty. You subjectively feel like Andrew Neyman throughout the film and your blood pressure might go right through the roof whenever he is taunted by Fletcher. J.K. Simmons has a special gift for playing what could have been a demonic, hateful character; he shows empathy and has a powerful charisma that burns the screen with hot vitality. It is no wonder he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, his Fletcher is not cut out of the sentimental vein of “Mr. Holland’s Opus” or any other nicer teachers from our cinematic past. The film doesn’t shy away from suggesting that Fletcher’s tactics are not the most instrumental in shaping any talented performer but his insatiable need to find and root out greatness is definitely clear.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle (based on his own experiences at Princeton), “Whiplash” is not for ordinary audiences and it is not for parents who feel that every kid nowadays should win an award for “making an effort.” It is not an easy film to digest but most great films don’t always make it easy for audiences. There is a respect that develops between teacher and student and the finale, an emotional powerhouse with jazz drumming that has the relentless tempo of the movie itself, is sure to leave you drained. You may not like these two characters but you can identify and respect their search for pushing the limits. Neyman and Fletcher are two characters that will remain in my cinematic crosshairs for some time. Good job, great film.
