#20: Whiplash

What does it cost to be the greatest? In a year where a new horror film from Justin Tipping (Him) explores this in gorily spiritual detail as it relates to football, it seems fitting to shout out another film that explores a tale as old as stories themselves.

Damien Chazelle’s 2014 feature Whiplash features perhaps the best qualities of a streamlined, early career film from a great director: its length (1 hour and 47 minutes), character focus (Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons—who won an Oscar for his performance here—shine at the center of the film), and thematic richness all benefit from the tightened, limited scope of the film. With a budget that priced out at just $3.3 million, Chazelle showcased all of the skill and creativity that have made him one of the most critically praised directors of the 21st century since. Managing to make jazz drumming thrilling, this one follows the educational years of Andrew Neiman (Teller), whose dream of becoming the greatest jazz drummer in the world takes him to the prestigious halls of the Shaffer Conservatory of Music, where acclaimed teacher Terrance Fletcher (Simmons) stalks the halls.

The word stalks here is apt: it takes little time for Neiman to realize both the cutthroat nature of the school and the obsessive and abusive patterns of leadership from Fletcher that inform it. A focused study on human ambition and hubris, the nature of the pursuit of excellence, and the psychology of motivation, Whiplash remains a viscerally, emotionally, and intellectually stunning film, filled with blood, sweat, and curses, and it forces the audience to wonder, “What does it really take to achieve greatness?” Whatever it takes, Chazelle clearly has it, as this film sets him up to become one of the most memorable storytellers of the 21st century.

Other Recommendations If You Like Whiplash: Tár, Nightcrawler, Sound of Metal, Black Swan, Babylon