Extra Blog January

This month I was fortunate enough to watch an independent film in theaters an that is currently up for multiple Academy Awards. Whiplash is an independent drama written and directed by Damien Chazzele based on his short film Whiplash. The film is about an aspiring jazz drummer who is performing at one of the best music schools in the country. After being observed by one of the music teachers at the school our drummer is moved up to the most advanced and prestigious class. The teacher ended up being both emotionally and physically abusive. The drummer is pushed to his limit and finds himself consumed by his drumming. The acting in the film is truly spectacular. JK Simmons was perfectly able to execute the intense role of the music teacher and still be able to flip the switch to show an eerie calm only to blow up again on camera in a beautiful display of talent. I was rather impressed by Milles Teller's performance in the movie. I had seen him in movies prior including 21 & Over and Project X where I wasn't terribly impressed with his performance and he came off as incredibly goofy. In Whiplash Teller gives his character depth through determination and raw physicality. Damien Chazzele wrote the screenplay to be extremely character driven and follow a characters struggle without saying it but rather showing it. I would like to praise Chazzele for his directing of Teller on this part for providing subtext to each intense scene that we see Teller go through as his character. The film is not only beautifully shot and directed but is well sound edited. Whiplash was incredibly powerful because the music driving it so the sound editing is just as important as the acting and cinematography. I  give this film a 9.2/10.