Everybody Loves Whiplash
Whiplash is a 2014 independent drama about a young drummer facing his instructor. The film is basically one of the most well-shaped music-based films ever. Damien Chazelle, the writer and director, created a great story mixed with strong themes. As a case study of picture composition analysis, I had to review a particular scene from the film which you can find it here although it’s in Persian.
The interesting fact about this movie is that everybody likes it. There are a few people who didn’t like the film. This is not a blockbuster with Hollywood stars nor big production and special effects. What has made this independent film so much popular and so likable?
Story
I think the most important reason is that its strong story containing a challenging relationship between a charismatic instructor and an ambitious hardworking student.
J. K. Simmons
You can’t deny the J.K. Simmons’ performance is one of the reasons you like the film. In fact, he won the “Best Supporting Actor” award in almost every festival or movie award the film was screened. He has won 47 awards for this part and that’s incredible.
Directing
Another reason must be the excellent directing. Chazelle used a classic method to narrate his story. He wisely selected the most informative shots which are playing their parts in the right amount, which brings us to editing.
Editing
Editing is the key reason why we love Whiplash. The movie’s rhythm is so right that you can’t imagine an alternative cut for the whole film. Each scene has its own type of editing which amazingly keeps a steady pace for the whole movie.
I think there are more to this but these four reasons were more clear. As we are on the subject, there’s another really good independent 2014 film about a music band called Frank, that I really recommend you to watch.
