WHIPLASH: A Thriller for Dreamers | Film Review | Gonk Review
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- Finally, this is a review of my favourite film, Damien Chazelle's 2014 musical thriller Whiplash. I'm currently studying Chazelle's work so seemed a perfect time to review. Enjoy. Let me know your thoughts of the film in the comments :)
ABSOLUTE BANGER 🥳🥳🥳🥳
LOVE WHIPLASH
What frustrates me most about Whiplash, and I know I'm not the first person to say it, but the general absence of any actual love for music in the film.
The characters certainly obsess over grand ideas like true greatness and perfection, but the music in the film is like a obstacle to overcome in pursuit of greatness and not something through which the joy of self-expression is possible. The only transcendent musical experience the movie acknowledges is the kind where you bleed and sweat until breaking through your limits.
In my own playing, the moments of transcendence have always, absolutely always, come from moments where my ego gets out of the way and I just play whatever feels right in the moment. Time stands still, and my hands feel as though they move on their own. It's a zen experience, one achieved by getting out of my own way.
sorry, I'm rambling a bit.
But owing to the fact that the movie is about the pursuit of greatness moreso than it's about music, maybe they made the right choice in going the route they did. I guess I just wish the movie had shown an alternative to just pursuing greatness, because music is more than just a means to be remembered. It's life and love and pain and so.... sorry, I'll shut up now, I made my point.
I completely understand where you’re coming from. This film is mainly carried by its themes of obsession that to actual music and enjoying it comes later. I like the different angle that this takes overall. Thanks for the comment! What do you play?
@@GonkFilms_Productions I've been playing guitar since the mid 90s, picked up bass during lockdown.
I guess if were allowed to change one thing in the movie: When Andrew gets expelled, instead of giving up on drumming entirely (because why would you do that?), just throw in a scene where he's gigging with a mediocre bar band, and is visibly bored. Show the bar patrons showering him with praise for his talents but we see on his face that it doesn't really mean anything to him. Maybe show him trying to bust out some more advanced moves then cut to a disapproving scowl from another band member, then back to Andrew awkwardly going back to just keeping a simple backbeat.
That wouldn't fix the joylessness of the movie, but at least it would establish that Andrew is driven by SOMETHING other than just greatness for seemingly its own sake.