Screenpopp

Whiplash takes place at a prestigious music school and begins with an encounter between the main character Andrew (Miles Teller) and the ominous and sought after instructor Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Fletcher walks in on Andrew practicing his drums and gives him a brief critique and walks off leaving him feeling excited, intimidated and confused. This would set the tone for their relationship for the rest of the movie.

As the movie goes on Andrew is invited to join Fletcher’s class where he finds out that he operates his class like a drill sergeant leaving students in fear of failing him.  His character actually reminds me a lot of the famous drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket. This pressure does not persuade Andrew to quit but rather pushes him to be better. Andrew tries to balance his music with his relationship to his father and girlfriend but as the movie proceeds, he shuts them out in favor of his pursuit of greatness. The pressure of this class builds and builds until a major event forces him to perform under extreme duress and he fails and is cut from Fletcher’s class.

After this we find out a little more about Fletchers character, and he is fired for the way he has treated students.

Later on in the movie both Fletcher and Andrew meet up after Andrew sees him performing in a club. Fletcher says that he always saw great talent in him and that is why he pushed him so hard. They agree to work together for a very important performance which leads to a finale the pushes the movie from GOOD to GREAT.

There aren’t a whole lot of things for me to complain about in this movie. It may not change your life, but it is intense and will leave you thinking about it long after the movie is over.

Reviewed by: Phillip Lane on March 7, 2015