Whiplash

It’s not like a movie about the relationship between a music student and a music teacher is so original. Student-teacher relationships are archetypal and have been explored in drama for centuries. But what’s different here is: Whiplash explodes with technique. The editor must have been freebasing “Five Hour Energy” drinks to make some of these cuts. The music scenes are frenetic, but also hyper-controlled – a lot like jazz itself, and a lot like the dick-ish band conductor skillfully played by J.K. Simmons. But I questioned his character’s motives occasionally. He seemed to cut off his nose to spite his face more than a reasonable person would deem practical. Nevertheless, his performance is electric. As is Miles Teller as the artist who is so eager to please his mentor that he’s willing to self-destruct. This is an extremely entertaining and technically superb movie, even if the exploration of the artistic dilemma hits uncomfortably close to home.