Reviews for this film from our members:
- Rick Aragon @ Rick’s Cafe Texan
- Excerpt: Whiplash is a really intense ride almost from the get-go. A brilliant film that will keep you thrilled to the very end.
- José Arce @ LaButaca.net [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Una maravilla de intensidad inasumible, una batalla monstruosa por alcanzar algo tan inalcanzable como la Perfección. Su bicéfala criatura central rinde a un nivel espectacular, pero J.K. Simmons encuentra aquí un tótem inolvidable. Una película obligada.
- Danny Baldwin @ Critic Speak
- Chris Barsanti @ Film Racket
- Excerpt: Whiplash’ [is] like its characters: full of skill and technique and fury, but hollow at the core.
- David Bax @ Battleship Pretension
- Excerpt: To Chazelle’s credit, he asks questions seriously and seriously ponders the myriad outcomes. In the end, though, his film never uses its fangs enough for the questions to leave a mark.
- Tim Brayton @ Antagony & Ecstasy
- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat @ SpiritualityandPractice.com
- Excerpt: A mesmerizing drama about the toxic fallout from perfectionism and unbridled ambition.
- Enrique Buchichio @ Cartelera.com.uy [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Whiplash no es sólo un fascinante ejercicio cinematográfico para bateristas; es una reflexión intensa sobre los límites a los cuales se está dispuesto a llegar para alcanzar una vocación o un sueño.
- Samuel Castro @ Ochoymedio.info [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Un guión sencillo y perfecto que nos hace pensar en qué tipo de sacrificios implica la excelencia en cualquier actividad.
- Bill Clark @ From The Balcony
- Excerpt: Sharp, powerful, and engaging from the first frame on, Whiplash is as intense and satisfying as any movie in years.
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Damien Chazelle begins his film with a black screen, the sound of a drumbeat escalating into a frenzy, before we see Andrew isolated with his kit at the end of a hall. Tunnel vision. In one brief moment, Chazelle’s set his primary theme.
- Edwin Davies @ A Mighty Fine Blog
- Excerpt: Whiplash is best understood as a twisted inversion of an inspirational teacher movie… It’s a bizarro Dead Poets Society in which encouragement and belief is replaced with outright cruelty, and Robin Williams is replaced with R. Lee Ermey.
- Tony Dayoub @ Cinema Viewfinder
- Excerpt: …one marvels at the command Chazelle exhibits as he enlists Simmons, Teller, Tom Cross’s brilliantly rhythmic editing and the syncopated, drum-centered score by Justin Hurwitz to propel us through a heart-stopping depiction of instructional sadism run amok.
- Carlos del Río @ El rincón de Carlos del Río [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Whiplash está hecha con muchísimo brío: en cuanto empieza te mete de lleno en la historia, y no te suelta hasta que acaba.
- Billy Donnelly @ This Is Infamous
- Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: The greatest testament to Chazelle’s accomplishment with these characters is that we dread what’s still to come for them.
- James Jay Edwards @ FilmFracture
- Excerpt: ‘Whiplash’ Is The Most Exciting Band Geek Movie Ever
- Candice Frederick @ Reel Talk
- Cynthia Fuchs @ PopMatters
- Sarah Gopaul @ Digital Journal
- Excerpt: ‘Whiplash’ is about a young man’s unyielding dedication to become one of the world’s greatest jazz drummers — in spite of his teacher’s ruthless direction.
- Susan Granger @ www.susangranger.com
- Excerpt: Abuisve, yet electrifying, defining the parameters of artistic sacrifice…
- Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Not since Black Swan have the body modifying rigors generated from one’s dedication to an artistic discipline, been rendered so graphically on film.
- Blake Howard @ Graffiti With Punctuation
- Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
- Excerpt: Instead of metronomes and Mr. Holland’s Opus, the audience plows ahead into an edge of your seat thriller.
- Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Never would one expect a film like “Whiplash” about discipline and raw talent in the world of jazz music to be as brutal and emotionally distressing as a blood sport. Miles Teller is fiercely riveting and J.K. Simmons is nothing short of unforgettable.
- Kristin Dreyer Kramer @ NightsAndWeekends.com
- Alan Mattli @ The Zurich English Student
- Excerpt: Without ever taking a clear stance on the matter – to its credit –, Whiplash fascinatingly embeds its negotiation between the rewarding charms of everyday existence and the costly price of trying to be a legate of high art in a ceaselessly gripping, admirably minimalistic narrative. It may not be quite true to life, but it makes for outstanding cinema.
- Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Matthew McKernan @ FilmWhinge
- Excerpt: There isn’t a shot or a cut here that feels unnecessary or pointless. It is also apparently 107 minutes long, but it flies.
- Simon Miraudo @ Quickflix
- Pat Mullen @ Cinemablographer
- Excerpt: There’s a close shade of R. Lee Ermey’s cantankerous drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket in Simmons’ fierce performance as he controls the band with an intensity that could have Shaffer tromboners shitting Tiffany cufflinks at any moment.
- João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: As suas lições podem-se aplicar à vida em geral, mas o que fica para a posterioridade são as intensas e fortes sequências onde as personagens de J.K.Simmons e Milles Teller batalham até ao desgaste com tudo o que têm e contribuem assim para um argumento emotivo e forte.
- Jason Pirodsky @ Expats.cz
- Excerpt: You would be forgiven for thinking that a movie about drumming wouldn’t be terribly exciting, but debut writer-director Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash is quite the surprise: this drama about a music student and his vitriolic mad-dog instructor is one of 2014’s most intense and suspenseful films.
- [New – 7/2/15] | Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Por isso há toda uma trama desenvolvida a partir daí, que muda o rumo do filme num instante, tornando-o sobre humanos quando parecia ser sobre música. Se foi pela música que nos conquistou, será pela humanidade que o recordaremos.
- Jamie S. Rich @ DVD Talk
- Excerpt: Unfortunately, there is some third-act silliness on the way to that finale that nearly kicks Whiplash‘s legs out from under it. After ushering us into the private space of the band room, Chazelle doesn’t really know how to open that back up and return characters to the real world.
- Diego Salgado @ Guía del Ocio [Spanish]
- Norm Schrager @ Meet In the Lobby
- Excerpt: Just about every adjective has been used (and repeated) to describe his performance: Intense. Fierce. Astounding. But don’t overlook the subtle control Simmons exercises as the film’s demon…
- Amir Siregar @ Flick Magazine [Indonesian]
- Cole Smithey @ ColeSmithey.com
- Excerpt: Writer-director Damien Chazelle has made a powerhouse drama about the level of dedication it takes to be great at something.
- Frank Swietek @ One Guys Opinion
- Excerpt: Its strength lies in the teaming of Teller and Simmons, who play their scenes together like an inspired jazz duet.
- Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: A fast-paced, riveting musical thriller with brilliant performances by Miles Teller and J.K Simmons.
- Sarah Ward @ artsHub
