IMDb Top 250 Journey: Whiplash

Hello there! Welcome to The Tony Tay review of Whiplash, a movie from IMDb's Top 250 list which commands an impressive 8.5 score, at spot #42. Excited? Me too.

Immediate thoughts?

Smart. Thrilling. HAUNTING.

 

Go on...

Whiplash had a considerable amount of hype, mostly focused on J. K. Simmons' performance as Fletcher, a version of that intimidating teacher we've all had, taken to the extreme, and Damien Chazelle's effort as writer-director. Simmons ended up taking home an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance, with Chazelle having to make do with a nomination for his screenplay, in addition to the two wins and nominations it racked up in other categories, including best picture. Now, you're probably thinking: "Where's all this coming from?! This isn't Tonyeli's style."

It isn't. 

Okay, so when you hear about movies which had so and so oscar nominations, the first thing you think of is those boring drama movies with 'renowned' actors/actresses, and 'deep' messages, in other words, the kind of things old people like. But....I guess you can already see where I'm going with this.

Whiplash was among my favorite movie of 2014. It was thrilling, for a drama movie, and showcased the talent of lesser known actors and actresses, as well as launched Chazelle onto the scene - all very good things. In any case that's not all the movie has going for it. 

There's the unforgettable Fletcher I spoke about earlier, an extremely demanding jazz instructor at the school our main character is in. It's always great to see an out of the ordinary character, especially when the character manages to still be very believable. And then there's the music, predominantly jazz and drumming, which I don't fancy, but didn't hate. In fact, I sort of liked it. That's a huge deal, that the jazz wasn't so present that it detracted from the movie, which is to say, don't let the jazz put you of; you might forget it's there, and even if you don't, it's really not bad.

Oh yes, the 'action' scenes. Don't let me mislead you here, because there's no fighting, or shooting, or anything you'd expect from your regular action movies. These action scenes I'm referring to mostly involve music. And they are great! Particularly the finale; you'd be surprised.

Admittedly though, Whiplash can get uncomfortable if you're not used to intimidation. It can also feel far-fetched, and if there was an underlying message, it seemed to be encouraging that sort of behavior (intimidating people to get results). On the whole though, it is a pretty fantastic movie.   

 

But was it well-made?

Most definitely. Whiplash is a technical showpiece. The tight editing and confident direction blew my mind. I mean, I could feel confidence exuding from behind the screen. It was also perfectly put together, such that it ended up being fast-paced and intense, and not boring and melodramatic. Sounds, visuals, acting, sets - All good job done. 

Final thoughts

Whiplash is just a great movie guys - not a lot of ways to say it. You won't regret watching it, and afterwards, you'll probably want to talk about it some more and you're very welcome to do that in the comments. Finally, I believe you'll agree with me when I say it totally deserves a spot on the list. 

My Score: 9+

Next week we're onto The Wolf of Wall Street. Till then, let's hear your thoughts and scores on Whiplash below.