I’ve been meaning to see Whiplash since it came out a couple of years ago, so this recommendation was more like a “get on it already!” kick in the pants than getting me to see something I otherwise wouldn’t have – still, I gotta thank Alex for the kick in the pants, because this was just as great as I’d been hoping, if not more.
Miles Teller plays Andrew, a drum student at the prestigious (and fictional) Shaffer Conservatory in New York, who wants nothing more than to make it into Studio Band, the most elite and respected jazz ensemble at the school – making a mark in Studio Band could lead to positions with the best professional ensembles in the country. The director of Studio Band is a notorious perfectionist, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) who brooks no mistakes and no challenges to his authority.
