“Were you rushing or were you dragging?”

I remember the very first time I watched this movie. It was around a year ago, and in theaters for its tenth anniversary. I was glued to the screen from start to finish to say the very least, and by the time I left that theater, my seat was sweaty, and quite frankly, so was I. Whiplash is one of the greatest non-horror suspense films ever made, or at least that I’ve seen. It is simply one of the greatest directorial debuts of all time, and it will never cease to amaze me how Damien Chazelle was able to craft tension and drama in such a perfect way. Even for some of the greatest directors of all time, their first directorial debuts showed promise for sure, but still definitely had that amateurish, student-film feel to them. Think Christopher Nolan (Following), Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight), Steven Spielberg (The Sugarland Express), and, shoot, even Martin Scorsese (Who’s That Knocking at My Door). They all showed promise, but still clearly weren’t quite at their game yet.

Well, Damien Chazelle was at his game with his debut, Whiplash. Every standard that people look at, particularly film buffs and critics, was executed flawlessly with this film. The cinematography, pacing, writing, acting, sound, production, and themes and symbolism were of an award-winning level. Whiplash was undeniably deserving of that Best Picture nomination. This movie is full of some desktop background-deserving shots that weren’t just trying to “show off,” but actually enhanced the movie. Particularly when you get towards the end of the film and in the climax.

One of the most well-known things about this movie is its use of color grading. It relies very heavily on color grading, and quite frankly, a lot more than other films I’ve seen. This isn’t just simply done for dramatic effect, but it completely shifts the tone of the movie entirely and adds to the suspense of it all. This is somewhat off topic, but there are videos on YouTube out there that show what Whiplash would look like without color grading, and it’s almost an entirely different movie. Most of the film is very warm, which, instead of giving a, well, warm and comforting feeling, does quite the opposite. Not only does it give a feeling of passion from the main character, Andrew, or “Neiman,” as he is commonly referred to by his last name, but it also makes everything feel so tight, and honestly, as weird as it sounds, hot. Like, there is just a scorching atmosphere that dramatically increases the tension already present just from the script. The music and close shots add a tremendous amount of tension as well.

When it comes to the story, the delivery of its messages could not have been done any better. It’s a story about perfectionism, and what it ultimately costs to be the best at something. Basically, it asks, would you rather be perfect at something and be remembered and talked about by everyone for years to come, but never for a moment of your life feel a moment of joy, or would you rather live life with joy, success, and love from others while perhaps maybe not being remembered or talked about one hundred years down the line? It’s a huge question, and though I personally know where I stand (the latter, obviously), for many famous people, the “greats,” to be more direct, this was what they ended up sacrificing.

Obviously, there are two main performances in the film - Miles Teller as Andrew, and J.K. Simmons as Fletcher, the music instructor. Both give top-tier level performances. Miles Teller perfectly shows Andrew’s progression from someone you care about, feel embarrassed for, and have empathy towards, to someone who is full of bitterness and constantly makes hateful and bitter decisions to accomplish his goal. He’s still the protagonist at the end of the day, but someone who gets really hard to root for by the end. Now J.K. Simmons, on the other hand, gives one of my favorite performances of all-time, and easily one of my favorite antagonist performances of all-time. Fletcher is written to be an unbelievably intimidating and scary character, who constantly abuses his students both mentally and physically, whether that be direct or indirect, and Simmons absolutely nailed the part. He’s also constantly throwing insults at his students that, while very inappropriate, are a little hilarious, but somehow never take away from the tension (another thing that amazes me).

This was my second time watching it, and it still definitely remains in my list of favorite movies. And that ending, while maybe a bit on the long side, concludes the movie perfectly. Probably one of the best symbolic endings I’ve ever seen, and no, I will not be talking at all about the ending. Best to go in completely blind for that.