(Historical Post - 23/06/15)
So, I finally watched Whiplash last night and I have to say, I am not sure what I thought of it - No, that's a lie, I know what I thought of it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I know I enjoyed it, I know it was an original (ish) story and I know that both Miles Teller and J K Simmons are masters of their craft, but I went to sleep confused as to whether or not this was in fact a 'Best Picture' Oscar worthy film.
I think my problem is that I can’t just watch a film like a normal person, I have to dissect it and pick away at it and question every hand movement and facial twitch I see.
I'm just going to write from the notes I made and see what comes out...............
The story is one we see in so many films, the teacher/student scenario - the teacher is a right shit bag bully for long enough to get the student to be the best he can be at whatever subject is being taught, but the difference here is the central focus is on the art of jazz drumming; I've not seen a film about this before and I don't know of one (correct me if I'm wrong) so that's the original angle that the writer has here and it’s a good one! The music in this film is beautiful and I'm not a fan of jazz but not being given a choice but to listen to it for two hours was actually a treat for my ears that's for sure.
The whole look of the film is very sepia, it’s all browns and blacks and warm oranges and golden earthy tones - whether that's intentional or not is another question, but it ensures your focus is on the central characters alone. The contrast of the splashes of crimson blood (which we see quite a lot of actually) is beautiful.
The story takes us from the students first encounter with the teacher, to the final nod of approval - no back story or epilogue is shown, which is refreshing, there's no filler, no unnecessary crap to make the film longer or seem more interesting - it is what it is, you can tell it originates from a short film actually and you can also see what a talented mind, with a good team behind him, can do with what is by today's standards, a miniscule budget! of only $3.3 million.
Call me a loser if you like, but this is my passion and I take it seriously, so if I know I want to really write a good informative blog post about a certain film, then I will make notes while I'm watching - these are usually just bullet points and written in the dark without actually looking at what I'm writing so most of the time I can’t even read what I've written, but what stood out the most from my Whiplash notes was the fact that I wrote 'painful to watch' or some other form of that sentiment, no less than 6 times - which brings me to J K Simmons' character..........
I am familiar with J K Simmons, I know him best as 'Vern Schillinger' from the HBO show Oz - a Nazi bastard who epitomises prison brutality - and to be honest, I think I was more offended and had more disdain for him in Whiplash than I did in Oz, and if you've seen Oz, you would know that's quite a bold statement. I think it’s because over 6 seasons of Oz we get to see slight glimmers of a human being underneath the swasticas and the eye patch, on quite a few occasions, but in this movie I would say you see it, convincingly, twice in just under 2 hours and even then I questioned one of those.
There is no doubt in my mind he deserved his Golden Globe and I hope his Oscar nom turns in to an actual statue for him because he was one nasty bastard and anyone who can ad lib insults like that and still be nice as pie in between takes is amazing to me - he plays a total psycho and he plays it almost too well.
Like I said there were a couple of fleeting moments of true sincerity but I questioned one of them, there were probably 2 other moments where you think you see a human being but I wasn't having it at all - whether it was supposed to be genuine I'm unsure and that's credit to his performance because you hate him so much by this point you have zero sympathy for him.
I have to say though, even I was flinching at the language, it seemed unnecessary at times, but again it just added to his psycho presence even more - a job truly well done!
I actually wrote the words 'he’s a proper nasty fucker' in my notes and this is true, he really gets personal with the insults, but when he gives the final nod of approval at the end, you will believe it wholeheartedly, I think mainly because you've heard him say the most atrocious things and hurl furniture at Andrew's head and reduce him to tears, that by this point you so badly want him to just show an ounce of humanity you are just relieved to finally get what you've been holding your breath for.
Now for Miles Teller.
I had no words for this when I went to bed last night because I've fallen in love with his natural talent so much - now I have the words, but there are too many and they are all flying around my already full of shit brain so I will try my best not to waffle.
He does a truly formidable job as Andrew Nieman, I can’t think of one negative comment to make - which is rare.
He gives us this quiet, unassuming character to start with, no real friends, under the radar type student and that sweet light is so gorgeously contrasted with the shade of the shouty, self-assured, slightly arrogant, musical genius we see bursting at the seams throughout and that he finally becomes by the end.
I say musical genius because that is actually him drumming - no camera tricks were used here, it is all him - granted, some clever editing has been used on the epic drum solo at the end but still, you can’t take away from the fact that it’s all him. Whether or not it is his actual blood we see remains unanswered at the moment but that's some pretty serious commitment, to make to a film where, considering the budget, he really can’t have been paid that much! But its paid off in other ways, he is now the star of an Oscar nominated picture and about to blow up in an immense way. I just wish he'd got more award nominations for his role because he definitely deserves them.
There is a central love story of sorts which we come to expect in every film we see we get the shy boy asking out the strange pretty girl, in that cute awkward way that we all fall in love with and its delicious, like so adorable you could drop kick him in the face for being so sweet, but sadly it doesn't last - in a fresh twist we see him quite coldly dump her before they've even really got anywhere, its actually quite brutal (he gets his comeuppance) - this was a wise move in my opinion because you literally have no distraction from the purpose of the story - it's all about him and his personal journey.
There is some cursory family involvement, a dinner table scene belittling his talent, a quite touching father son relationship and some run ins with various band members - all of it short and sweet but not altogether necessary as your focus is the teacher student relationship and that's definitely enough; this film could be a two hander and it would have been amazing.
In fact it is amazing - I knew I'd reach my decision before I finished this post. It's all about organising the thoughts :-)
I think my favourite thing about this film was seeing Miles Teller so muted - he's usually the life and soul and so alive and the centre of your attention because he's just so funny, but he's the centre of your attention in this for very different reasons and the fact that he made me hold my breath at times is stunning to me. I obviously enjoyed the fact that he stood up for himself and passionately tore his teacher a new one; particularly when he mouthed the word 'Fucker' at him during his out of nowhere spectacular drum solo, but seeing him so silently thoughtful and slightly damaged was the stand out for me.
I initially thought the ending wasn't enough, I felt unsatisfied, but now I've written all this out I can see what it is and why it is totally enough, the journey to get there and to get that final nod of approval is so intense and so excruciating to watch at the time that this is your moment of relief - you are being rewarded for sticking with this film to the end and I really think everyone should.
So, I finally watched Whiplash last night and I have to say, I am not sure what I thought of it - No, that's a lie, I know what I thought of it, but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I know I enjoyed it, I know it was an original (ish) story and I know that both Miles Teller and J K Simmons are masters of their craft, but I went to sleep confused as to whether or not this was in fact a 'Best Picture' Oscar worthy film.
I think my problem is that I can’t just watch a film like a normal person, I have to dissect it and pick away at it and question every hand movement and facial twitch I see.
I'm just going to write from the notes I made and see what comes out...............
The story is one we see in so many films, the teacher/student scenario - the teacher is a right shit bag bully for long enough to get the student to be the best he can be at whatever subject is being taught, but the difference here is the central focus is on the art of jazz drumming; I've not seen a film about this before and I don't know of one (correct me if I'm wrong) so that's the original angle that the writer has here and it’s a good one! The music in this film is beautiful and I'm not a fan of jazz but not being given a choice but to listen to it for two hours was actually a treat for my ears that's for sure.
The whole look of the film is very sepia, it’s all browns and blacks and warm oranges and golden earthy tones - whether that's intentional or not is another question, but it ensures your focus is on the central characters alone. The contrast of the splashes of crimson blood (which we see quite a lot of actually) is beautiful.
The story takes us from the students first encounter with the teacher, to the final nod of approval - no back story or epilogue is shown, which is refreshing, there's no filler, no unnecessary crap to make the film longer or seem more interesting - it is what it is, you can tell it originates from a short film actually and you can also see what a talented mind, with a good team behind him, can do with what is by today's standards, a miniscule budget! of only $3.3 million.
Call me a loser if you like, but this is my passion and I take it seriously, so if I know I want to really write a good informative blog post about a certain film, then I will make notes while I'm watching - these are usually just bullet points and written in the dark without actually looking at what I'm writing so most of the time I can’t even read what I've written, but what stood out the most from my Whiplash notes was the fact that I wrote 'painful to watch' or some other form of that sentiment, no less than 6 times - which brings me to J K Simmons' character..........
I am familiar with J K Simmons, I know him best as 'Vern Schillinger' from the HBO show Oz - a Nazi bastard who epitomises prison brutality - and to be honest, I think I was more offended and had more disdain for him in Whiplash than I did in Oz, and if you've seen Oz, you would know that's quite a bold statement. I think it’s because over 6 seasons of Oz we get to see slight glimmers of a human being underneath the swasticas and the eye patch, on quite a few occasions, but in this movie I would say you see it, convincingly, twice in just under 2 hours and even then I questioned one of those.
There is no doubt in my mind he deserved his Golden Globe and I hope his Oscar nom turns in to an actual statue for him because he was one nasty bastard and anyone who can ad lib insults like that and still be nice as pie in between takes is amazing to me - he plays a total psycho and he plays it almost too well.
Like I said there were a couple of fleeting moments of true sincerity but I questioned one of them, there were probably 2 other moments where you think you see a human being but I wasn't having it at all - whether it was supposed to be genuine I'm unsure and that's credit to his performance because you hate him so much by this point you have zero sympathy for him.
I have to say though, even I was flinching at the language, it seemed unnecessary at times, but again it just added to his psycho presence even more - a job truly well done!
I actually wrote the words 'he’s a proper nasty fucker' in my notes and this is true, he really gets personal with the insults, but when he gives the final nod of approval at the end, you will believe it wholeheartedly, I think mainly because you've heard him say the most atrocious things and hurl furniture at Andrew's head and reduce him to tears, that by this point you so badly want him to just show an ounce of humanity you are just relieved to finally get what you've been holding your breath for.
Now for Miles Teller.
I had no words for this when I went to bed last night because I've fallen in love with his natural talent so much - now I have the words, but there are too many and they are all flying around my already full of shit brain so I will try my best not to waffle.
He does a truly formidable job as Andrew Nieman, I can’t think of one negative comment to make - which is rare.
He gives us this quiet, unassuming character to start with, no real friends, under the radar type student and that sweet light is so gorgeously contrasted with the shade of the shouty, self-assured, slightly arrogant, musical genius we see bursting at the seams throughout and that he finally becomes by the end.
I say musical genius because that is actually him drumming - no camera tricks were used here, it is all him - granted, some clever editing has been used on the epic drum solo at the end but still, you can’t take away from the fact that it’s all him. Whether or not it is his actual blood we see remains unanswered at the moment but that's some pretty serious commitment, to make to a film where, considering the budget, he really can’t have been paid that much! But its paid off in other ways, he is now the star of an Oscar nominated picture and about to blow up in an immense way. I just wish he'd got more award nominations for his role because he definitely deserves them.
There is a central love story of sorts which we come to expect in every film we see we get the shy boy asking out the strange pretty girl, in that cute awkward way that we all fall in love with and its delicious, like so adorable you could drop kick him in the face for being so sweet, but sadly it doesn't last - in a fresh twist we see him quite coldly dump her before they've even really got anywhere, its actually quite brutal (he gets his comeuppance) - this was a wise move in my opinion because you literally have no distraction from the purpose of the story - it's all about him and his personal journey.
There is some cursory family involvement, a dinner table scene belittling his talent, a quite touching father son relationship and some run ins with various band members - all of it short and sweet but not altogether necessary as your focus is the teacher student relationship and that's definitely enough; this film could be a two hander and it would have been amazing.
In fact it is amazing - I knew I'd reach my decision before I finished this post. It's all about organising the thoughts :-)
I think my favourite thing about this film was seeing Miles Teller so muted - he's usually the life and soul and so alive and the centre of your attention because he's just so funny, but he's the centre of your attention in this for very different reasons and the fact that he made me hold my breath at times is stunning to me. I obviously enjoyed the fact that he stood up for himself and passionately tore his teacher a new one; particularly when he mouthed the word 'Fucker' at him during his out of nowhere spectacular drum solo, but seeing him so silently thoughtful and slightly damaged was the stand out for me.
I initially thought the ending wasn't enough, I felt unsatisfied, but now I've written all this out I can see what it is and why it is totally enough, the journey to get there and to get that final nod of approval is so intense and so excruciating to watch at the time that this is your moment of relief - you are being rewarded for sticking with this film to the end and I really think everyone should.