With every niche genre of film, there is a film within that genre that destroys all notions and cliches within that genre. Whiplash is one of those film. Within every mentor/student film, there is the same basic storyline. Mentor sees something in student, student pushes himself because of mentor, something happen that brings student down, and mentor and student go against all odds and the students proves to himself, mentor, and everyone else that he is worth something. Whiplash doesn't do any of these things. It doesn't even try to do these things.
Whiplash tells the story of Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller), a jazz drummer at a Juilliard-esque type music school. While practicing one day, Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons), one of the schools toughest teachers, listens to him and then leaves out of boredom. Andrew realizes that it was such a loss for Fletcher to lose interest in him, but he proves himself worthy later on to be in Fletcher's Studio Jazz Band.
Once there, Fletcher degrades, curses, and diminishes players who are not worthy to be in his band. He seems to imprint on Andrew pushing him and throwing chairs when he fails. When another player makes a mistake and Andrew has to take his place during a competition, Andrew starts to attain a certain confidence that shows in his regular life. With that confidence he asks a girl out that he frequently sees at a movie theatre. They start a budding relationship that makes Andrew not a solitary person like he always is.
When Fletcher gets another alternate that starts to go up against Andrew, he starts to lose his cool and lashes out at Fletcher, When a song that they are supposed to play at the next competition is supposed to be played at 300BPM, Fletcher makes all the drummers play until 2 in the morning when their hands and drums are covered in blood until Andrew is the one that prevails.
When the day of the competition comes and he is late, Andrew loses his part and lashes out at Fletcher. He gets expelled for attacking Fletcher. When Andrew's father finds out, he talks to a lawyer because a student recently committed suicide who was also under Fletcher's wing. Fletcher then loses his job and Andrew becomes aimless after being expelled from school.
Andrew walks around town one night near a jazz bar, and sees Fletcher playing. The two talk and everything seems amicable. Fletcher tells Andrew that he was fired from school, but doesn't know who did. Fletcher asks Andrew to be the drummer in his new jazz ensemble that is playing at a jazz festival.
I won't ruin the ending or the climax of this film, but it is explosive and there are multiple reversals that when the ending does happen you just want more of it. Teller and Simmons both give performances that are career defining for both. Miles Teller has been a scene stealer with every film he has done in his short film career, but for J.K. Simmons this is a role that people will remember him for.
What makes this film different is the fact that this teacher student dynamic does not follow the same formula. It is seeped with destructive egos and an ebb and flow of a power struggle to be the best and create the best. Each jazz session feels like a war, and there is a reason this film has been nicknamed "Full Metal Julliard". Simmons's character is also such a delightful monster. He keeps changing from tyrannical teacher to showing signs of humanity that makes people relate and understand what he does, and how he wants to create the next great jazz musician. This film is a maelstrom of music. Where jazz songs feel like a battlefield of notes. The scripts writes itself into a corner, that when it finds a way out it creates such a firestorm of a jazz sequence that is cinema at its best. I give Whiplash 5 bloody drum sticks out of 5.
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