Whiplash, a film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, has taken the Academy by storm. The story follows a jazz drummer who gets accepted to one of the top jazz programs in the country, where he is mentored by a stern, aggressive band director who attempts to push him past his limit, as he strives to become one of the greats in jazz.
The movie is a metaphoric representation of the life of Charlie Parker, who had a strict teacher who pushed him extremely hard so that he could achieve greatness. Jo Jones, his instructor, is particularly famous for throwing a chair at Parker for not keeping in time while playing, which is depicted in the movie.
The independent film successfully ran through multiple film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the “Audience Award” and “Grand Jury Prize” for a drama and has been nominated for other awards at other festivals including the world-famous Cannes Film Festival in France. Oddly, when the film came to theaters, it did not get much of a response. Although receiving some of the highest ratings out of any movie this year, being an indie film, it has struggled to reach out to an audience. As a small production indie film, run on a low budget, it has not benefited from multiple advertisements or air time on major networks. They go low cost, hoping for a high reward.
A personal anecdote: I had not even heard of the film myself until a jazz teacher of mine showed a trailer for it in class.
My highest regards for the film include the musical performance, the screenplay, and of course, the acting:
Miles Teller, who plays our drummer-protagonist, has really given a milestone performance in his acting career. He is a self-taught drummer of Rock ‘n’ Roll and, in preparation for the part, spent hours a day with a teacher to learn traditional jazz drumstick gripping along with entire songs that are in the movie to bring a more realistic performance. His ability to play an all-around, “mixed bag” character really compliments his fantastic acting ability. The quirkiness of his flirt, his determination to be the best, his expression of anger towards himself and others, and his awkwardness, sadness, and feelings of pressure as he struggles to impress everyone around him truly absorbs us and translates to a powerful performance.
Then there is J.K Simmons, and let’s face it; this role was made for him. From Spider Man to Juno and finally to Whiplash, Simmons again plays the harsh, uncompromising authority figure – and he is perfect at it.
Whiplash has gotten high appraisal from critics of the Academy, the organization that is mostly in charge of the Oscars and other award shows. According to recent “Oscar buzz” from online, the film is a possible Oscar contender, particularly a “Best Supporting Actor” nomination for Simmons. Awards or not, Whiplash will join other indie greats such as Juno, Pulp Fiction, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Blair Witch Project, as one of indie film’s most memorable movies.
Whiplash has been in theaters since October 15th. Still, but not for long, I recommend that you catch it in one near you.
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