I’m just going to start off by saying that I REALLY liked this movie, maybe even more than La La Land. Thematically, these two films share a couple themes such as jazz (including Chazelle’s token “jazz is dying” line) and the moral of the story for both is that greatness comes at a price, whether it’s your dignity or relationships. Whiplash just takes both of those things to a whole new level. I must say I really, really like the way his movies look from the cinematography to the set design and especially the colors. I feel like he puts a lot of thought into the color palette and I appreciate that. Anyway, this movie was way more intense than I expected. It was a lot like Black Swan but way more grounded in reality, which is why I liked it way more than Black Swan. Both movies depict artists practically going insane to achieve greatness but Whiplash, however, felt much more like a commentary on abuse in the world of music than about achieving “greatness”. I always wondered why music majors are constantly ranked as the most stressed, and now I understand. If they even have to withstand a tenth what this guy went through they have my complete respect.
Chazelle also really likes ambiguous endings. I was really mad at La La Land’s ending the first time I watched it but over time I grew to like it. And this movie ends right after the guy freaks out and then goes like god mode on the drums for 20 minutes and we don’t even get to see any reaction but maybe that’s the point. Was Fletcher sabotaging him or was this the plan all along (unlikely)? And what about Fletcher’s former student who committed suicide after achieving said “greatness” (does he even care?). It almost seems like a hint as to what’s to come for Anthony down the road. Did Anthony even achieve greatness if it came at the cost of his dignity and love for drumming? Ambiguous endings are definitely a disappointment at first but I think they ultimately make the movie more rewatch able, as you can interpret it a different way each time you watch. Anyways, wow, I really like Damien Chazelle as a director. Now it would be cool if he could think outside the box and do something not jazz related. Comparison between Black Swan and Whiplash https://youtu.be/ba-CB6wVuvQ
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May Featured Movie QuoteBarry B. Benson: Yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black, yellow-black... Oh, black and yellow. Yeah, let's shake it up a little.
Yeah, I have letterboxd now
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