Despite their prominence to the engine room and composition of most styles of music, the drummer is still roundly mocked as something of music's necessary walking joke.
Plenty of jokes exist regarding a drummer's intelligence, ability to pay attention, musical ability and self-belief, But despite that, it remains a very prominent instrument performed with oodles of physicality.
Among many of the things Whiplash has to be given credit for - if not quite the thing its been most heralded for - is capturing the essence of kinetic high-energy performance associated with drums, and in particular free-form jazz-flecked solos that the likes of Buddy Rich would have been proud of.
The fast kinetic flow of the movie and its muscular punch give the film much of its traction through its relatively lean 1 hr 45 timeframe, which it does its best to zip through.
The story is fairly simple. Young drummer Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) is a first year student at a decorated music school in New York, when he catches the attention of the school's lead conductor Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). After doing so again in a rehearsal room, he is bumped up into the school's primary band as secondary drummer.
It is this stage in the affair when the drama begins to spiral out of hand. In a more schmaltzy flick, Andrew's graduation into the main band would be followed by a montage of a helpful gentle mentor gradually encouraging him to pick up the bits and pieces to deliver a complete performance. The perception of such a storyline is nicely punctured when after a few mistakes, Fletcher hurls a chair at Andrew, and then begins slapping and humiliating him.
This is a movie that pulls no punches from there either. Teller's hands and fingers take one hell of a beating through the process, as he's demanded to play intricate beats above and beyond his previously thought capabilities - even if the beats and soundtrack aren't always in sync. It leads to eye-watering sequences of ice water soothing his sliced up bloodied hands, and splatterings of red all over drum skins, sticks, cymbals, the lot.
One of the things fuelling the percussive drama is the touch of obsession. Andrew's obsession sees him break off a seemingly forged relationship with cinema concession stand girl Nicole (Melissa Benoist) seconds after she's first on screen. This subplot could have been either elaborated upon or just flat out not bothered with, but Teller is impressive in balancing the obsession and determination of his character to try and make something from his drum skills, even when the plot moves towards the seemingly implausible.
He has to fight hard for the prime real estate in the dramatic obsessive stakes. Fletcher's own obsession with having the perfect jazz orchestra representing him and the music school is evident, and plays out in a superbly psychotic performances. He is armed to the teeth with impressively eloquent, frequently blunt, and sometimes amusing put downs as he tries to push his students to becoming flawless. His all black uniform also seems to act almost like a cloak, giving him a sweeping, impressively evil overseeing of the production.
Fletcher subscribes to the logic that great pain has to be endured on the way to great art, as noted in the trailer when he says the English language's worst phrase is "good job". He frequently cites a story of how a young Charlie Parker had a cymbal thrown at him after screwing up at a jazz show in Kansas City, before going on to be a saxophone legend. While the story is slightly amended in the film's reality - drummer Jo Jones threw the cymbal at the floor, not at the young Parker - it suits him down to a tee.
Hence, we get sequences where he uses cruel and unusual methods to encourage his drummers. One sequence sees Andrew and two other drummers subjected to hours and hours of practice to get right a tricky but fast tempo, during which the phrase "Not my tempo" escalates from mild criticism to death knell.
The two central performances are what the camera primarily follows throughout the piece. Certainly, there is a lot to say for the view that its them that keeps the enterprise functioning all the way through to the end of the piece, as well as demonstrating a nice array of jazz riches that helps put shine back on a genre that hasn't been in the musical mainstream as much in the last few decades as it was in the pre-Beatles era.
Recognition has been coming the film's way in spades, with five Oscar nominations, including a Best Picture nomination, and a Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons - an award he is widely anticipated to walk away from the ceremony with.
Its certainly an accomplished production with an impressive emotive wallop being packed, and plenty of exciting moments and moods. From afar, it can feel surprise to say an exciting and compelling thriller has been made about drumming - in particular solo-oriented jazz drumming - but its kinetic, muscular ride functions superbly.
Next up will presumably be a film making the triangle into a physical endeavour. Or at least we can only hope.
4/5
