Devoting oneself to a particular craft is a tremendous challenge. I’ve dedicated myself to writing about pop culture, while others may devote themselves to the world of acting or painting. It is the world of music, specifically drumming, that drives Andrew (Miles Teller) to push himself far far beyond his limits. His quest to be one of the greats, to make an impact as a drummer is the focus of one of the years best movies, Whiplash.
Now, when Whiplash starts, Andrew is a mild-mannered College student, one who doesn’t like Raisinets in his popcorn and managed to achieve a date with Nicole (Melissa Benoist), a nice woman who works at a movie theaters concession stand. Miles Teller does a remarkable job of making Andrew a likable, everyman kinda guy, the sort of person whose amiable to a fault. He has this presence that made me warm up to him immediately, especially considering how the film shows how dedicated to the craft of drumming

Now, how does the film show this you ask? By opening the film with a single take that slowly zooms in on Andrew playing the drums. This approach immediately tells me not only how devoted Andrew is to playing this instrument, but also clues one in on how damn extraordinary the directing in this film is. Seriously, it’s kind of mind-boggling how intricate and thoughtful Damien Chazelle makes each shot. There’s layers upon layers in each frame of the film that help make the powerful emotions of the story come to devastating life.

Four paragraphs in, it’s time to talk about the element of Whiplash that everyone is raving about; J.K. Simmons as Fletcher. Chazelle is fully aware of what kind of performance he’s got here, and he utilizes it in riveting fashion. From the moment Simmons enters the feature, his looming aura created by a booming voice and cruel words never exits the film. What’s brilliant about his character is how, outside of his classroom, he’s as approachable as all out. But inside his classroom, it’s another world. He becomes a monstrous force of a human being, whose every hand gesture keeps a person on edge, and every bellowed word is like a verbal dagger to the heart.

So powerfully established is Fletchers threatening personality that the first time he stops Andrews performance to critique it, I jumped out of my seat. He’s not yelling, raising his voice or anything, just knowing that this storm cloud of cruelty is about to hit Andrew was more than enough to get me startled. Sequences between Fletcher and Andrew are just terrifying to watch, with both performers managing to excel, especially Simmons. He’s utterly terrifying, even with the simplest facial expression.

Seeing Andrew progress through the movie under the teaching of Fletcher is a particularly brutal experience to witness, but it’s also a satisfying one seeing as how the film never makes his progression as a character feel overly stylized or contrived. It fits beautifully and reinforces the air of tragedy hanging over the tale. As the intensity rises in the film, I found myself just enthralled with witnessing this wonderful combination of expert performances and masterful directing. By the time Whiplash’s breathtaking finale arrived, I realized that this is the kind of movie that leaves me overwhelmed with all the power one feature film can convey.