Film Forum

U.S., 2014
Directed by Damien Chazelle
With J.K Simmons, Miles Teller, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser
WINNER, Academy Awards® –  Best Supporting Actor (J.K. Simmons), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing
Approx. 107 min. DCP.

“You already know the ferocious jazz teacher played by JK Simmons in the electrifying New York-set drama WHIPLASH if you've seen things like FULL METAL JACKET, BATTLE ROYALE, and even the grizzly bear in GRIZZLY MAN. Clad fully in black, biceps bulging, Simmons’s Fletcher exudes attitude: he rules the top department of an elite New York music school with a clenched first. Drumming student Andrew (Miles Teller from THE SPECTACULAR NOW, fully convincing) is nearly destroyed by this monster, a barking man who’s impossible to please. Yet even though our hero’s knuckles bleed and his snare gets spattered, you think: that’s some truly glorious noise he’s making. The discipline and beauty of bebop has never been better served by a film. WHIPLASH might have followed this trajectory to a feel-good destination, one involving a recital, some proud parents and a teary hug. But that’s not where the young American writer-director Damien Chazelle wants to go — and bless him for it… WHIPLASH explores the outer reaches of crazy passion. It never apologizes. And the flurry of drumming it ends with — Teller’s solo is staggering — is both a magical cacophony and, obliquely, a door slamming shut.” – Time Out

Reviews

“The movie swings — physically, musically, psychologically, racially.”
– Wesley Morris, The Boston Globe

“Revealing both the dangers and payoffs of artistic ambition, WHIPLASH is sure to establish Chazelle as a directorial force to be reckoned with.”
– IndieWire