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Whiplash (2014) just blew my mind.
- Thread starter Corpsepyre
- Start date
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Bobby Roberts
Banned
Art-house theaters are still screening it. I know it's still in theaters, it's just not the easiest to find. What city are you in?
HIGH DEF JEFF
Banned
I really, really hope they do (and I haven't liked a Wes Anderson movie since Rushmore).
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Plus, I can't imagine that Entertainment Weekly cover is helping anything.
San marcos,tx. about 30 miles south of austin
watched the film a few days ago, didn't know what to expect from it, and i absolutely loved it.
more than deserves any award it gets.
.
more than deserves any award it gets.
that's what i was thinking because
the way fletcher came down on that kid for being careless, i thought it was him.
and also so fletcher could see how andrew would play in real world conditions as it were.
and also so fletcher could see how andrew would play in real world conditions as it were.
that's really impressive.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Oh, it's GOTTA be playing in Austin somewhere.
edit: yeah, it's at three different locations in Austin right now. Nothing in San Marcos, though.
He won't because it is the oscars. See: Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
As someone pointed out to me previously - we shoulda seen that coming since Roberts was winning industry awards for Brockovich leading up to that.
Caught this when I was in Austin with some lady friends last month. I enjoyed it greatly for the most part but JK's character really turned into a... well... character by the time the film ended. His performance was frenetic and amazing but the whole final performance where he sabotages his own band just to fuck over one person who'd already lost everything based on a hunch seemed a little contrived and out of character to me. I mean, Miles Teller had already been kicked out of his school at that point so it's not like he stood to lose anything further by screwing up that final performance. It just seemed like such a contrived and silly way to end an otherwise terrific film.
It's just a shame that Miles Teller is getting overshadowed by JK. He's the one who turns in a performance where he's clearly giving it his all during every moment.
It's just a shame that Miles Teller is getting overshadowed by JK. He's the one who turns in a performance where he's clearly giving it his all during every moment.
I thought the movie took a pretty hard stance that Fletcher's teaching methods don't work. He pushes his students too far and if Andrew had stayed the course he would have ended up just like Shawn Casey. Andrew tapping into greatness at the end of the film was in spite of Fletcher, not because of him.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
No. And yes.
Pre-recorded by a pro drummer, Miles "acted" by playing it on the movie and trying to match the music, what you see on screen is for the vast majority him playing (not always but they say 90%) but what you heard obviously wasn't his performance. I mean, his technique was shit at the eye of a pro drummer, the way he holds the sticks is all wrong and even the production team kinda fucked up how the kit was chosen and pieces were placed at the wrong angles, would be impossible to sound like that with a kit that way. But it's not important honestly.
Yes, I understand and accept this.
However,
the last few minutes of the film are Fletcher guiding Andrew and the rest of the musicians to close the song. That's why I took what I took from it. I guess you're right though. Andrew did win out in the end.
EightBitNate
Member
It's a lot more psychological than that. I don't want to ruin anything, but each character's motivation is realistic and intricately created. Even when there's so much to dislike about either Miles's or JK's characters, I kinda sympathized and even rooted for everything they wanted.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
The trailer makes it look like a comedy lol
It's definitely much more than that. It's a fascinating character study. Also the way the tension is built in this story is impeccable. Like movements of a musical composition.
Best to go in without too much expectation, but going in is a must.
I just saw this the other day and it's absolutely incredible. I really think that rather than making the Fletcher character a hero, they did a good job of just putting him there and making him exist.
Soundtrack was awesome as well. Wonder if it got nominated... if neither this nor Birdman got a nomination for original score I'm gonna be a baby.
Soundtrack was awesome as well. Wonder if it got nominated... if neither this nor Birdman got a nomination for original score I'm gonna be a baby.
They were both deemed ineligible because they use pieces of existing music.
UltimaPooh
Member
But that is the ending. It's ambiguous... the audience can interpret as Andrew succeeding despite Fletcher but they can also see it as Fletcher still continuing to push Andrew even at that moment... and that's why he smiles at the very end... because his theories were right.
This ultimately leads the audience to wonder whether what Fletcher did was right. Andrew pushed himself so hard he became transcendent but at the great cost of many things. So was it worth it in the end?
This ultimately leads the audience to wonder whether what Fletcher did was right. Andrew pushed himself so hard he became transcendent but at the great cost of many things. So was it worth it in the end?
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
I think Paul Reiser's eyes (you know when) were the single best piece of acting I've seen in a long time. I broke down in tears and it has still got this very powerful hold on me just by thinking about it right now.
Superb.
Superb.
the_log_ride
Member
Caught a viewing of this over the weekend and enjoyed it. It's been a while since I've felt intense anxiety from a film. If you haven't seen it, go and watch it.
NOT MY F#CKING TEMPO!
Dice//
Banned
This right here. Linklater did a helluva thing, but I think the story in Whiplash is rarely told and a very great lesson that deserves to be 'out there'.
Princess Carl
Member
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
I have never been so pumped.
I have never been so pumped.
Atraveller
Banned
I've yet to see it, and I really really want to, the release schedules here are horrible.
Well, if your read the script, the writer clearly make Fletcher "wins", cause in the scene where Andrew is backstage after the 1rst song, Andrew clearly choose Fletcher instead of his dad. But the montage of the movie, the director makes it more ambiguous, and I prefer this (cause I really hope Andrew sees that Fletcher is a fucking fascist 
Saw this today, and I certainly liked it a lot.
The final scene seems weird to me. They deliberately try to make it out like this one performance is going to make or break everyone's career, but I just don't really buy that it is like that. Great musicians can recover from a bad show - that seems to be the whole point of the Charlie Parker story. Not to mention that previously it seemed like the JVL performance was actually meant to be relatively minor one and all of a sudden it's the most important thing in the universe. My main suspicion going into the film was that they would find an awkward way to raise the stakes and it wouldn't really work that well.
As simply a battle of wills between Fletcher and his student though I think the last scene is pretty good.
As simply a battle of wills between Fletcher and his student though I think the last scene is pretty good.
but he was a dragger
Thats not difficult.
Yeah, the movie was amazing, I saw it few days ago, and I am still thinking about it. Those early scenes
Where the slapping was involved
The only niggling problem I had was that it ended abruptly. Not fan of Ambiguous ending myself.
shamo42
Member
I don't think the we're supposed to think it was a break or make it moment. IMO Fletcher tries to convince the band it is because
A) He wants Andrew to feel as terrible as possible when he fucks up on stage minutes later
B) It's one of his ways of putting pressure on the band to get the best out of them
If he'd say something like "don't worry if something goes wrong, you'll be able to recover and still can have a successful career", the band won't give it's best.
A) He wants Andrew to feel as terrible as possible when he fucks up on stage minutes later
B) It's one of his ways of putting pressure on the band to get the best out of them
If he'd say something like "don't worry if something goes wrong, you'll be able to recover and still can have a successful career", the band won't give it's best.
Frustrated_me
Member
Great movie, I loved the pacing of the film. Never had a dull second.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Yep. Ending sequence is amazing.
Feb 24th, so not too bad.
I disagree. I thought it just displayed HIS musicianship as being boiled down to his speed, which that was clearly his biggest bugaboo.
Last movie that had me sitting the entire time, thinking "This is awesome," for most of it, was No Country for Old Men. Not comparing the two in any way except the way it just made me so intensely interested and drawn in.
A lot of people here seem to have taken Fletcher's statements at face value. If what he says is true then it's actually kind of interesting to consider that he would
ruin his career and the careers of every performer on stage just to get back at Andrew
The problem with your take:
If Fletcher is lying about the value of a performing well at the JVL Festival, then Andrew's victory is completely hollow. He threw away his entire life for the sake of impressing his asshole teacher, and in doing so he completely validates Fletcher's horrendous teaching techniques. At the end of the day all he's done is make Fletcher feel good, and he's only mildly closer to being the next Charlie Parker (if at all). A Pyrrhic Victory if there ever was one.
I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and just accept Fletcher's "These cats will make you famous if you do well and ruin you if you do poorly" speech if only because it makes for a more interesting take on the Fletcher character's vindictiveness and an ending that is at least bittersweet (triumphant Andrew is about to launch a successful career, but in doing so has validated all of Fletcher's nastiness). I think that in the universe of Whiplash, we are expected to believe what Fletcher says even if it's farfetched compared to our own reality (or even the reality of the movie, where Charlie Parker overcame a terrible performance through practice and perseverance).
I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and just accept Fletcher's "These cats will make you famous if you do well and ruin you if you do poorly" speech if only because it makes for a more interesting take on the Fletcher character's vindictiveness and an ending that is at least bittersweet (triumphant Andrew is about to launch a successful career, but in doing so has validated all of Fletcher's nastiness). I think that in the universe of Whiplash, we are expected to believe what Fletcher says even if it's farfetched compared to our own reality (or even the reality of the movie, where Charlie Parker overcame a terrible performance through practice and perseverance).
At the end of the day I think the movie demands that you suspend your disbelief because the Fletcher character himself is almost completely unbelievable. Has anyone ever had an instructor or professor that bad? It's almost inconceivable to me that anyone who excels in the creative arts would end up with less heart and empathy than a drill sargeant. Maybe some petty math teacher might be kind of an asshole, but in a field like music I think it would be hard to find anyone as heartless and capricious.
Admiral Woofington
Member
No modern university would ever allow somebody to demoralize students in such a fashion. He went way beyond being an asshole to outright causing emotional issues. But agreed that you have to suspend your disbelief on some aspects of the characters.
I actually played under a band director that had an intimidating "aura" around him, if you will. Nothing close to Fletcher, but a verbal insult or making fun of someone in front of the rest of the band was not out of the question. It made me think a person like Fletcher could exist.
mr stroke
Member
LOL
just finished Wiplash and wow what a fucking Film!
super intenise and it's just a kid on the drums
Miles Teller should have gotten an Oscar nom with such an amazing performance. Good to see JK with a fantasic lead roll as he normally a character actor. Amazing work by everyone involved.
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
Scene that stuck with me the most was when
The three drummers were competing for a spot and Fletcher was pushing them for hours."Go clean the blood off the drums"
Atraveller
Banned
It's the first day in theater in Taiwan lol, just came back from it and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Birdman and American Sniper was two major letdown.
lol
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