Does the cold sometimes blur your mind? Or maybe the warmth at home,
all the baking, the fireplace leaking smoke out, some cat fur floating around...
However, before all that you need to actually get there.
First you need to remember the way to your family
And buy a ticket for the dirty train ride.
Then you should assess how lonely you are for the holidays,
Especially in comparison to all the other people on the train
- It's a long ride.
At least outside it's colder.
But cleaner, definately.
And how cold is it at home?
How blurred will be the windows there?
I wish I could change it.
I hope they like my presents. And the cards.
And it won't be quiet.
It's not the windows actually.
There are ghosts outside.
They are playing in the puffy snow or fighting maybe.
Some of them are chasing after the train.
Some of them don't even notice it.
I don't know if they are happy fluffy ghosts or sad.
There's so much snow glued to them.
Stars: Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, Melissa
Benoist, Austin Stowell, Nate Lang
“Whiplash”
follows the story of the young and promising jazz drummer Andrew (Miles
Teller), who attends a prestigious music school and manages to get into the
class of the most feared and respected professor - Fletcher (portrayed by J. K. Simmons), who easily becomes abusive when it
comes to getting the best performances out of his students. Although Andrew is
constantly tormented by Fletcher, they at least share the love for the music and
throughout the film the two develop a kind of love-hate relationship that
revolves around the pursuit of greatness and perfection.
“Whiplash” is
pretty much straightforward and to the point, but here that approach is
effective and electrifying. It might be hard to believe, but “Whiplash” is the
first feature film by Damien Chazelle and it’s based on his own experience as a
competitive drummer in high school. The movie was first realized as a
successful short film that attracted investors for the production of the
feature version.
As a result,
we can observe the collision between two fascinating characters reaching for
the limits of human abilities and willing to go as far as possible. It’s a
dialogue about talent, determination, ambition and where do you draw the line
between hard work and insanity, between true talent and mediocrity. “Whipwash” also greatly incorporates comedy and it has more tension and excitement than most thrillers
and action movies, because of its immediacy and raw emotion. It achieves that
with concise script, great editing and cinematography (including a lot of
close-ups, especially of J.K. Simmons’ face) and two breathtaking performances.
And while everybody is losing their minds over J.K. Simmons, can we talk about
Miles Teller? He is just as amazing in his portrait of ambition, perseverance,
struggle, at times desperation, even arrogance and physical pain. Still, J.K.
Simmons is instantly magnetic, although at first it looks like he’s just building
on R. Lee Ermey’s performance as Sgt. Hartman in “Full Metal Jacket”.
This film
literally shows the blood and the sweat one must offer in order to achieve greatness.
And if you think about the plot, there’s
a slightly unrealistic succession of events, especially towards the end of the
movie, used to heighten the tension and drama. And although you know why it’s
there by the end you are so entranced and drawn into this hectic, thrilling
world that you go with it. I guess, because of that, although essentially
realistic, the movie is also stylized, beautifully enhanced to immerse you in
its world and the turmoil of the characters.
What I also
like about “Whiplash” is that it doesn’t shy away from the arrogance of Andrew,
often something very common among the great or just ambitious artists. So, there’s
a tiny bit of “Amadeus” feel to it. Of course, there’s the “Black Swan”
comparison and although definitely less fantastical and more straightforward,
“Whiplash” describes just as well the struggles and obsessions of a young
performer that happens to be in one of the most cutthroat arts.
Also, there’s
a hell lot of actual drumming (a big part of it performed by Teller himself) and
I love it. I think that many directors would shy away from that, but Chazelle
definitely made the best decision, because every second is absolutely
enthralling and brings the audience closer to the drama and the characters. The
ending of the movie is stunning and (for me) makes “Whipwash” one of the very
best films this year.
