8/10
Whiplash isn't a particularly brilliant movie - for the first hour plus it's actually pretty by-the-numbers. It's not that it turns into a brilliant movie after that point either, just that it finally gets to where you knew it was going and it still turns out to have been totally worth the wait. It's also helped along by two great performances by Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. Simmons' performance doesn't exactly have a lot of depth but for a supporting role it's hard to ask for much else. In fact Simmons' character Fletcher teeters so often on the brink of being cartoony that he deserves a lot of credit for keeping him monstrous instead.
(Some spoiler talk below)
I read some conversation (here and elsewhere) condemning the movie for appearing to condone bullying. I'm not totally sure I agree. I think some viewers were left disappointed that we never really got to see Fletcher's real comeuppance despite him being a jerk for 100% of the film's running time, but just because we're denied seeing that doesn't mean the movie condones what Fletcher does. I mean, if the movie had shown Fletcher and Andrew having a laugh and sharing an iced tea after the final performance I might agree, but the movie smartly ends onstage, leaving any inference of right or wrong up to the viewer alone. So I don't think the movie was condoning or condemning, just portraying, which is OK too.
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