I’ve tried Chazelle debut, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, several times and it isn’t quite up to snuff for the archives—so this here- seems to be arrival of a true artist- everything is studied and intentional- a whooping achievement for any director- let alone one 29 years old
From the opening- a gorgeous tracking shot with Miles Teller practicing with the open door framing him
It’s the role of a lifetime for JK Simmons- long-time solid character actor from Juno to Burn After Reading– he’s phenomenal here- a great battle with Teller (who is even stronger)- sorcerer and apprentice, cat and mouse with an ending and ambiguous ending
Like many great films from Raging Bull to Citizen Kane it’s a character study- Teller’s Andrew gets his self-worth from Simmons’ Fletcher- when he is chosen he has the confidence to ask out his girlfriend
The lighting is fascinating- again- very intentional to spice up a film that is largely contained with no sun in dark rooms—there’s a yellow/green hue to much of it
Early in the film Teller is late for a practice and falls as he’s rushing- it foreshadows the crash
Clearly you could draw a directly line from Whiplash to Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket with Simmons as R. Lee Ermey’s Sgt. Hartman and Teller as D’Onofrio as the Pvt. Pyle
The performance is on point by Simmons—but there’s great iconography and characterizations in the screenplay and direction- he’s got the closed fist for “stop” and the “not my tempo”
There are certainly scenes where it’s the performances that keep it from being repetitive. There are 3-4 long scenes of him lambasting Teller and the other kids. But you almost need the duration in order to survive it and empathize. I believe it to be a necessity for the impact of the film, performance
It’s absurd that there was no Oscar nom for Miles Teller (Simmons won for best supporting—as did the editing which is well deserved)
Chazelle through two films seems to be obsessed with driven characters- here and La La Land. Great auteur markings and reoccurring themes
Again- characterizations- with Simmons’ Fletcher—he hints at it being an act- or at least something he can turn off and on—Cries when former protégé dies in a crash (which turns out to be a lie)’ he’s cutthroat of course- be he can joke with a young girl and be kind. He gives a nice pep up speech to Teller
Blood is a reoccurring visual theme- several times in the film
Some great dialogue “Turn my pages, Johnny Utah” and “No two words are more harmful in the English language than good job”- skilled writing
The editing is a behemoth- whip pans, cutting on the music and then the final act, sabotage and solo- the lighting is inspired but the work by Chazelle and his editor Tom Cross- sublime
This film works on many levels; entertainment, musical, and a terrific character study.
I feel like there is an angel vs devil battle for Andrew (Teller) between Terence Fletcher and Andrew’s father. Fletcher obviously being the devil and the ultimate “ends justify the means” person. Andrew’s father is presented as a nice guy who probably underachieved in his life and while Andrew obviously loves his father it is clear by the end of the film that Fletcher is victorious. Andrew does not want “perspective” he strives for greatest in his field. Unlike say Wall Street (1987) where Charlie Sheen’s character eventually admits he is not Gordon Gecko but “just Bud Fox” as much as he wanted to be Gordon Gecko, Andrew has fully bought into it regardless of all the psychological abuse that Terence Fletcher dishes out. Of all the great two person performances of the 2010s only The Master (2012) has a clear cut advantage in my opinion.
[…] Whiplash – Chazelle […]
This film works on many levels; entertainment, musical, and a terrific character study.
I feel like there is an angel vs devil battle for Andrew (Teller) between Terence Fletcher and Andrew’s father. Fletcher obviously being the devil and the ultimate “ends justify the means” person. Andrew’s father is presented as a nice guy who probably underachieved in his life and while Andrew obviously loves his father it is clear by the end of the film that Fletcher is victorious. Andrew does not want “perspective” he strives for greatest in his field. Unlike say Wall Street (1987) where Charlie Sheen’s character eventually admits he is not Gordon Gecko but “just Bud Fox” as much as he wanted to be Gordon Gecko, Andrew has fully bought into it regardless of all the psychological abuse that Terence Fletcher dishes out. Of all the great two person performances of the 2010s only The Master (2012) has a clear cut advantage in my opinion.