My Review of "Whiplash"

Whiplash is a dramatic movie that came out back in 2014. It's an interesting time because it was at a time when society was increasingly understanding of political correctness. There are a ton of scenes in this movie that will traumatize a lot of people nowadays. At the time when this movie came out it was still quite shocking. That's not to say we weren't totally surprised either.

The movie starts off with an up an coming drummer named Andrew. This guy is a bit of a sociopathic narcissist but the movie paints him in a glowing light. To be fair he has an innocent ambition to be a great jazz drummer. He works hard and is laser focused at his goals. That's why he's enrolled at a prestigious music conservatory.

He starts to hear and witness this famous conductor working at the school named Fletcher. In the beginning all he knows is that Fletcher is a world renown teacher and conductor. Obviously Andrew wants to play for Fletcher but he learns soon that you have to be careful for what you wish for.

Andrew soon finds out that Fletcher is not an easy teacher. He is the toughest person to please. It's obvious to the audience that he also plays head games with his students. He's not a well liked character and is immediately looked at as the villain.

The whole movie is about Fletcher's influence on Andrew and begs the question of the morality of Fletcher's teaching methods. He often goes over the line and in this day in age he would never get away with half the stuff he does in this movie.

This movie also discusses success and the drive of an artist. What does it take to be a great artist and what does it mean to be successful. Everyone has different interpretations and I guess it's up to the individual. We have scenes of us understanding Andrew's accomplishments and they're merely looked over by his own family members. Personal accomplishments don't necessarily mean achievements that the whole world appreciates.

To achieve his ambitions Andrew has to do a whole slew of things and we start to question his actual goals. Is he actually doing this to achieve his goal of becoming a great drummer or is he doing them to please Fletcher? The lines kind of blur as Fletcher does have a point in his argument about his teaching methods. Would Andrew be as good as he becomes without the influence of Fletcher?

Therein lies a ton of questions us viewers have throughout this movie. I love this about the movie. There's not a lot of big action sequences or special effects the movie is focused on the growth and learning of our characters. This movie takes time to dive into the psyche of each of the characters.

We're so deep into the characters that I start to feel the anxiety and pressure that Andrew and the other characters feel throughout the movie. That's a pretty amazing and uncomfortable feeling to go through. It's definitely not for everyone but it is a very powerful feeling.

Overall, I remarkably enjoyed this movie just as much as I did when I first saw it back in 2014. For such a short period of time it's incredible how our shift in social norms have changed. I think that people can still have a great time watching this although they will have to understand they will feel uncomfortable. That's why I have to give this movie an 8.5 out of 10. By the way the music in the movie is pretty great as well.