Whiplash
Katara Cinema
/ Feature Narrative / United States of America / 2014 / Colour
In English / Arabic subtitles
Qatar Premiere
Rated: Parental guidance advised for viewers under the age of 15. Individuals under the age of 15 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or over.
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Synopsis
An ambitious young drummer clashes with his ferocious instructor at a cutthroat music academy. In a twisted way, the two seem made for each other, as the teacher ruthlessly preys upon the youth’s perfectionism, driving him to the brink of insanity in an escalation of increasingly terrifying events.
Known as one of the best unproduced screenplays of 2012, ‘Whiplash’ was a difficult project to get off the ground. Director Damien Chazelle wanted the film to play like an emotionally intense thriller, but no one seemed to believe in his vision. That all changed when he shot the film’s main scene as a stand-alone short film, which went on to win the award for best short at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013. A year later, this feature-length version was in competition in the same festival, where it won both the audience and the grand jury awards.
Reflecting his film’s title, Chazelle uses the camera like a whip, unexpectedly slashing through the screen with scenes of emotional violence. Graced by a towering performance by J.K. Simmons as the borderline abusive instructor and a breakthrough turn by upcoming superstar Miles Teller as his student, ‘Whiplash’ demolishes the clichés of coming-of-age stories about child prodigies, plunging us into a sizzling psychodrama that hits all the right notes – no pun intended.