With great power, comes great responsibility. Words from another movie that J.K. Simmons starred in a few years back, and those words certainly ring true once again in Whiplash.
Simmons plays a music instructor at a prestigious music academy and let’s just say his quest for success is a little more than intense. Borderline psychotic in places, Fletcher (Simmons) drives his students into the ground and then through it.
When a young inspiring student called Andrew turns up (Miles Teller), Fletcher does everything in his power to get Andrew to embrace his talent and become the best that he can be, but with some devastating consequences thrown in for good measure.
Whiplash hits the ground running with a rather brilliant and at times hilarious interaction between Fletcher and Andrew. This soft opening puts the audience into a sense of false security. While Fletcher is arrogant, he is also incredibly funny. However, this is ontop of an insane interior that comes to the surface more and more as the movie goes on. It’s safe to say that this role is the greatest role of J.K. Simmons career. He brings an incredible persona to the screen with arrogance, humour and insanity all being projected at will. As much as you should hate this character, he has a certain charm about him and this is testament to some phenomenal award winning acting.
That’s not to say that Miles Teller is a poor combo with Simmons. Quite the opposite, as Teller not only plays, but acts his socks off. It’s really in the latter half that Teller comes into his own as the intensity is ramped up and bleeding fingers aside, he is a mesmerizing watch. In fact Teller ended up exhausted at times due to the director, Damien Chazelle, not saying cut. Teller would keep playing until he was completely exhausted. And while he’s being playing drums since he was 15, the actor took extra drumming lessons, 4 hours a day, 3 days a week just to prepare for the movie. Incredible stuff.
Acting prowess aside, Whiplash has possibly one too many endings where it invariably starts to drag things out. This is quite noticeable and audiences may well find themselves getting weary by the time the credits roll. However, you are taken on an intense, musical journey with some incredible acting and Whiplash is definitely worth your time.
