Whiplash – There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘Good Job’.

A snare erupts, the cymbals whisper, the bass kicks in gently, the tom toms remain silent and the blood drips onto the drum kit. Throughout whiplash the tension is as palpable as a Michael Mann gangster flick, tangible and waiting to erupt. Director Damien Chazelle says that he made ‘Whiplash’ based on his memory of being a band student in his high school. Hopefully his memories aren’t as sharp and sometimes as traumatizing as the lead character Andrew Niemans.  The movie being Damien Chazelle’s debut, one wonders how much of a push he would give himself, ‘Whiplash’ being one constant push towards excellence, a tough hard push that does not wait for wounds to heal.

Miles Teller, whose last enjoyably transformative performance was in ‘The Spectacular Now’, plays Andrew Nieman in what could be for his career a massive qualitative boost. Notwithstanding the fact that he plays Stretch in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, ‘Whiplash’ would definitely provide him enough rooting in the drama genre to not be labelled a comic movie actor. Wikipedia tells us he has been drumming since he was 15 and practiced more intensely for his role as a first year student of the top music school in New York, Shaffer Conservatory. Also present in said school is Terence Fletcher, conductor of the best Jazz band in the school and naturally Andrew wants to be a part of the band. His perseverance is tested in 106 minutes of sharply cut ear-drum pleasing jazz goodness that gets a little nerve wracking from time to time.

Which brings us to Terence Fletcher, as played by J W Simmons - a no-nonsense Jazz expert who can spot tempo differences and match a 300 beats per minute tempo with around the same number of expletives when he finds a single instrument out of tune or a single beat missing in his score. While he has a quick ear for talent and attempts to use as much pressure as the earths crust on a spare bit of coal to bring out the diamond in his rare proteges, he does not care that he appears to everyone else a monster. I confess I was physically intimidated while watching Simmons’ kind face (that I remember from Spiderman and Juno) transition into spittle-flying, rage contorted, suture-like-vein-lined profile while he yelled into a face and drilled their impotence into them. As of last night Simmons holds 40 nominations(according to Wikipedia) out of which 34 have won him best supporting actor awards and 3 including the honor from the Academy are pending. Sadly for the other nominees, this visceral performance that matches some of the best efforts from the previous Academy category winners even matching some of the best method acting by the likes of Christian Bale in ‘The Fighter’, might just have the edge over them.

Damien Chazelle has accomplished something that isn’t exactly new but is definitely novel in that there are sequences where he manages to bring in the same amount of tension as a life or death situation to the interaction between a band conductor and his musicians. Miles Teller under the ably driven direction of Damien makes us appreciate the literal blood and sweat that goes into the percussive goodness that’s always a little underappreciated in most music. Jazz is something I am new to and to get a hit of what it sounds like while being put through the roller coaster that is ‘Whiplash’ is an experience that, if you are like us, will leave you clapping really loudly when the end credits roll(which we did, even though there were just the two of us watching the movie). The life of anyone who chooses to excel at something they love doing is not going to be simple. Add to that the best mentor that life can offer you being the person you want to be able to make proud but his methods aren’t exactly orthodox not to mention, well, human.

The two words that are capable of most harm in the English language are ‘Good Job’ says Fletcher while ruminating on his methodologies. In an age of over appreciation where every kid gets a gold medal for participation and every average job is given appreciation unquestioningly, Fletchers quote will resonate with almost all of us who strive for excellence. But how far can one push and be pushed until one loses ones humanity in the quest for perfection. ‘If you don’t have ability, you wind up playing in a rock band’ says a poster of Buddy Rich. Would you rather play in a rock band and enjoy what you are doing or would you skin your hands on your sticks playing that perfect ‘Whiplash’ so one of the best conductors of Jazz can smile at you with his eyes? The question is definitely not rhetorical and neither is it a simple yes or no. That in a nutshell is ‘Whiplash’, one of the best movies of 2014 and a movie that made me gain a little more respect for drummers.

Four stars.

All the worlds a (reality television) stage

Before going on to explain why I think ‘The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part I’ is a case of too little butter spread over too much (dry) bread, a note of thanks to the local radio station for giving us free tickets to catch the film in its delayed opening weekend in India! The current installment of the Hunger Games’ ‘forced’ quadrilogy is darker still than the excellent ‘Catching Fire’ but proves to be too long to sustain interest in everything that’s going on on-screen. I found out after our viewing that my co-viewer and post-movie-plot-debater found that she was unable to sustain her focus for too long as well.

Working off a script by  Peter Craig and Danny Strong and directed by ‘Catching Fire’ helmer Francis Lawrence, Part I of the Mockingjay – the end novel of the Hunger Games trilogy has fallen victim to producer induced greed in dividing itself into two parts(and thankfully not more!) a la Hobbit and Harry Potter. The resulting take provides us with dark entertainment for about nearly half or a bit more of its total running time of a hundred and twenty three minutes.  The cast hasn’t changed except for the welcome addition of Julianne Moore as Alma coin, more on her neat and tidy performance in about a minutes worth of reading. Phillip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last roles plays Plutarch, Elizabeth Banks  who is sublime as Effie Trinket, Woody Harrelson in a narrowed down and sober Haymitch portrayal and other usual but brilliant supports such as Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland round out the truly stellar cast that we have already been introduced to.

From my point of view of a spectator, Mockingjay reminded me more acutely than ever that the revolutionary tale started off as a description of a cruel but popular reality TV show which was supposedly played out to the death of participants but ultimately was shown to be scripted by the moneyed and those with vested interests. On a larger scale the games themselves were ones that reminded the subjugated of their subjugation. The mockingjay herself and almost everyone else in the story ironically seem to be playing out roles scripted by others for each and in turn carries out their part to generate a perceived benefit be it for themselves or the assumed benefactors. Credit has to be given where credit is due in that the striking similarity of ground zero ‘reporting’ is almost the same as what has been happening in Palestine or Iraq and the grittiness of some scenes reminds us that in spite of the stretched nature of the plot the ominous goings on haven’t really stopped.We are never too far from war and combat even though our protagonist is involved in only a single scene of direct combat.

Picking up where ‘Catching Fire’ left off, Katniss Everdeen is in the company of friends and new political benefactors or detractors as seen from the perspective of the District 13’ers or the Capitol. The mockingjay has inspired people everywhere in dystopian Panem and has concreted herself as an image representing revolution and freedom. The devious President Snow has the rest of the captors at hand and as ever threatens and delivers manipulation in multiple ways.  The addition to the list of people Katniss has to deal with are District 13’s president Alma Coin and her able wordsmith Plutarch Heavensbee who have an agenda for Katniss and her ever growing popularity as a rebel. But will Katniss find herself obliged to support an agenda when her concerns lie with the tributes who have been left behind in the Capitol? Julianne Moore excels in a restrained but quietly powerful portrayal of Alma Coin, a president who means well but where does her passion for her people come from? It pains us to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman on screen in portrayals of characters that seem to have been created with him in mind. But that is only an illusion as it is the genius of the actor that makes us feel so, his portrayal of Plutarch is excellent and layered. The refreshing surprise in the movie, though it is never really a surprise that she carries off this role so easily, is Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. In spite of her limited means she shows us what it is to truly adapt and accessorize 

The core of Mockingjay remains a plot that would have been easier to view and appreciate if it had been left untouched. I can recount at least four scenes of between four to five minute lengths that do not serve to build characters or to take the plot forward. Film makers need to figure out their priorities when making movies, while it is understood that a producers interest is in the return why manipulate a movie at the cost of itself ? Franchises such as Harry Potter and so called trilogies that have had their ending part split citing reasons that range from moronic to exaggerated in one broad spectrum have only made it difficult for people who appreciate good cinema justify the cost of the tickets. As compared to its predecessors Mockingjay is a distant third to the excellent 'Catching Fire' and its introductory first chapter in spite of it having its merits.

For want of better editing and restraint, the Mockingjay – Part 1 rates three stars on our scales with full credits to the cast for excellent performances.