Watched on Blu-Ray

Director and screenwriter Damien Chazelle had been looking for financing for his second film for years, earning much recognition for the material but no money. After keeping his head above water as a writer-for-hire in the meantime and changing genres to do so - he co-wrote the horror film "The Last Exorcism Part 2" and the thriller "Grand Piano" - he returned in 2014 with "Whiplash", for which he turned to jazz again after his first film. (fortunately not for the last time).

When filmmakers choose musicians as their protagonists, they are often about dreamers struggling with the harsh realities of the music business, or about young people seeking their way into adulthood with the help of music. "Whiplash" is a little of both, and yet quite different again. Ideals, free spirit, inspiration? These are foreign words for Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), he is all about technical perfection. And in the end, any means will do to achieve it.

Already with his first appearance in the film he doesn't necessarily collect sympathy points, for every scene in which he shows himself empathetic, ten follow where he mutates into a sadistic monster. The supposed place of the muse thus quickly becomes a place of horror, the psychological as well as physical strains are in no way inferior to those of boot camps in military films. And yet it would be too easy to divide the world of "Whiplash" into good and evil. Just when you feel safe after a turning point in the last third, when the world seems to be all right, Fletcher comes with a surprising as well as unpleasant realisation: technical virtuosity does not come from talent, but from work, from unconditional will, from trying to find limits in oneself and others and pushing them to the maximum. Encouragement, a "good enough", are not enough for this. If you want to be an artist of the century, you have to endure pain and perhaps perish from it in the end.

Even before that, the boundaries become a little blurred, and you are no longer sure whose side you are on. Andrew (Miles Teller), in the beginning still the absolute sympathiser, changes over time into someone who despises Fletcher and yet emulates him. He too begins to walk over dead bodies, to feel superior to his band mates and to insult them badly; he also treats his girlfriend Nicole (Melissa Benoist) shabbily. What is perfection worth to us, is the central question of the film.

This is not only exciting in terms of content, but has also been masterfully realised. Out of 5 Oscar nominations, the film won a total of 3, including J.K. Simmons as Best Supporting Actor. Absolutely deserved, because when he rampages through the rehearsal room, I regularly winced even from the safe distance of the living room. However, "Whiplash" reaches its climax when Andrew confronts his mentor with increasing self-confidence or even increasing desperation, the exuberant screen presence of Simmons suddenly finds a counterpart, the drama becomes a gripping, almost thriller-like duel - verbally as well as musically.

Sometimes the result is certainly contrived, when the dialogue is too polished after all, the characters are of a superhuman repartee. And the camera gimmicks often make you realise that you are "only" watching a film after all. Nevertheless, the fact that Chazelle was able to complete his portrait of a musician after a long time of back and forth is a stroke of luck. Even those who don't appreciate jazz excessively and don't know what to do with the virtuoso live music pieces should seriously consider giving the film a chance. Because "Whiplash" is one of the most intense films of the last 10 years.

To read my review for the short film, feel free to click here: boxd.it/3ave8J