4) Whiplash
A dazzling duel between drummer and drill sergeant instructor, Whiplash is the year’s most unflinching thriller – not bad for a film set mostly in a music conservatory. It follows Andrew (Miles Teller), a student that wants to be the greatest drummer of his generation. Ensnared and invigorated, the freshman walks around New York with his ear buds in, the tinny clasps of drums vibrating through his head. However, as he starts clashing with his masochistic teacher, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), those noises vanish into a void of emptiness. Instead of letting the pain drag him down, Andrew strives even greater to achieve perfection.
Whiplash contains two of the best performances of 2014. As the stubborn, bitter Andrew, Teller did most of the drumming, bringing the role a startling authenticity. Meanwhile, Simmons is chilling and sourly funny yet also humanizes his character so that Fletcher’s motive for pushing his students feel realized.
The film, a master-class in screenwriting, veers in unpredictable directions and always creates greater stakes for Andrew as he tries to prove his worth. Fletcher’s classes, meanwhile, are thick with suspense, as any missed beat or off-key note gets the teacher’s fury. The feud at the thriller’s center leads up to one of the greatest finales in contemporary cinema, an electrifying concert sequence that is edited and shot with flare. The audience walks out on a dizzying high, feeling as rattled and riveted as the title would indicate.
