Whiplash (2014)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  9 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: I thought Whiplash would be a great drama with awesome music, but nothing prepared me for what I actually experienced here. Yes at his mere age, Damien Chazelle managed to deliver something as raw, intense and brutal as I've ever seen put onto film. Seriously every frame and scene feels like it's about to burst with tension, and that's thanks to a whole cumulation of things for sure, but mainly Chazelle's direction. For one, the choices he makes with the sound (and visual) design are incredibly careful and considered and leave a lot of room for silence, whilst the performances he gets out of these incredible actors build tangible characters who's relentless pain consequently feels real and personal when it could have easily felt forced. Maybe there's a slightly different relationship I form with the whole thing because I play a lot of music, but like everyone I was on the edge of my seat and hugely involved from start to finish as I felt every cut, tear and hair stand on end whenever Andrew was put under pressure (which need I say was a heck of a number of times).
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: There's not a lot of breathing room for all that tension - but that's just as much a criticism as it is a compliment. The flaws thereafter really only lie with its singular message, but it is arguably admirable that the film has such a determined vision considering it's a debuting attempt from Chazelle.
  VERDICT: Most talent grows from a seed, but Damien Chazelle is already a tree... the only place now is the sky.

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