Whiplash: Breakneck Speed Equals Excellence!

Goodness gracious, I really wanted to love this film.  A story about jazz, playing drums and teaching music -- all of my favourite things and everything I do. Although the trailer was cringeworthy, I had high hopes. But for me, Whiplash turned out to be more like a made-for-TV-after-school special (with added foul-mouthed absurdities). I've seen better episodes of Fame.

I understand how fiction operates. I know this is just a film and meant to be entertainment. I'm hip to the concept of suspension of disbelief – where a semblance of truth may turn into a fantastic tale; therefore the audience should suspend judgement or disbelief.

And it would be easy to pick holes in the technical flaws. I will try to resist this, but suffice it to say, anyone with an ounce of technique will not bleed while playing (certainly not bucket loads that require submersion in ice and copious plasters). And it is impossible to punch your hand through Mylar.

Writer/director Damien Chazelle recalls his own experiences (fear of his music teacher), and deliberately uses sports and overtraining as a comparison to pursuing musical excellence -- fair enough. Someone’s truth doesn’t have to be mine. But the no pain, no gain approach is hackneyed nonsense. So melodrama (and Rocky) here we come!

If Whiplash was made about a trombonist, we'd have the corners of the player’s mouth cracking and bleeding -- having to be constantly defibbed back to life from passing out due respiratory failure and lack of air.

It really wasn't a film about jazz or drumming at all, but rather one of abuse, abuse of power and achieving musical 'greatness' by playing as fast as possible (where speed is paramount and playing drums is viewed as extreme sport) -- whilst becoming not a very nice person in the process. 

Speed is only one aspect of playing, not the aspect. Many may find this type of storytelling exhilarating, much in the same way many find the world’s fastest drumming competitions meaningful. But this is not music making, nor does it have anything to do with the skills required to build a great musician; making it for me, joyless and uninspiring.

Macho buffoonery aside, Neiman better prove Fletcher wrong and become a supersonic drummer rather than a 'pansy ass faggot'. Racist, homophobic and misogynistic language is used to build this musician’s character.

Ultimately, it is a film about the twisted 'bromance' of Neiman and Fletcher.  And one that is po-faced, overblown and full of male bloat: the last scene being cringeiest of all. Ah yes, the tiresome trope of the student becoming the teacher – but in this case perhaps not the most desirous of goals.  Neiman: I have the upper hand because I'm calling the musical cues.  Fletcher: no I have the upper hand because I'm still conducting you. I’m on top, no I’m on top! Get a room.

I left hugely disappointed and didn't feel entertained at all by these wholly unlikeable characters, as did many of my non-drummer, non-music-teacher friends, who disliked it even more than me. Most of all, the film irks because it perpetuates the fallacy that speed alone equates to eminence in playing the drums.

Fletcher's 'good job' monologue rang most true (not the incorrect version of the Jo Jones/Bird story he tells), but that commending students with high praise when they've only been adequate is detrimental. However, jazz is not dying because of undeserved congratulations; it is simply no longer the popular music of the day.

And while Teller is a decent actor with a compelling face, he actually only does a 'good job' of mimicking a drummer.  His technique was appalling, he had awkward hands (that traditional grip in the left hand was a stinker), making this a Starbucks film for the Starbucks masses. Drink up.

Favourite Drumming Scenes in Film

Welcome to my favourite drumming scenes in film. This list is inspired by some of my other shorter blog posts and most recently by the new film Whiplash, which doesn't make my list only because I haven't seen it yet.

[I have now seen Whiplash since writing this. And although the entire film was ostensibly about playing drums, there wasn't a single scene I'd include in my list. See review blog here and amendment below in comments].  

My list focuses on kit playing rather than marching band films like Drumline and is restricted to human players only (so no Animal from the Muppet films, no rabbit from Hop), and no documentaries or films that contain concert footage. Many of my choices feature tap dancing. A good deal of the old jazz drummers were also hoofers!

Without further ado:

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). If I had to pick a favourite, this would be it, having the most pathos. Frank Sinatra plays Frankie Machine (what a name!), a heroin addict, reluctant card dealer, and wanna be big band drummer. The theme music is perfectly scored by Elmer Bernstein and a soundtrack worthy of any collection. There's a lovely clip of Frankie practising in an apartment. But I'm choosing the audition scene. Shelly Manne is the drummer, not only on the soundtrack, but in this clip as well (one of my favourite scenes in all of celluloid history). Poor Frankie is strung out, can't concentrate, and loses all control of the hi hat. The scene begins at 1:38, but I recommend the whole clip for exposition:

Ship Ahoy (1942).  Buddy Rich and Eleanor Powell provide pure unadulterated joy:

Easter Parade (1948). Fred Astaire sings, dances, and drums to 'Drum Crazy'. Not traditional playing as he's standing up, but you cannot deny Astaire's percussive abilities when combined with dance. His body is a drum kit:

Damsel In Distress (1937). Astaire's second appearance. And again, although he plays standing up, it is with great and joyous aplomb:

Small Town Girl (1953). Ann Miller's opening lyric 'I like the sound of a tom tom' from the tune "I Gotta Hear that Beat" merely scratches the surface of what we're about to see here. If you've never seen this production number, you're in for a real treat. It's percussion heavy, complete with Miller's incredibly fast taps, and includes a bizarre array of disembodied musicians -- a kind of headless orchestra. The giant silhouetted kit player is the cherry on top:

The Gene Krupa Story (1959). Although Krupa does the actual playing on the soundtrack and during Sal Mineo's performances on screen, Mineo worked hard learning the drums for the film and mimicking Krupa's playing mannerisms. Four years on from The Man with the Golden Arm, Shelly Manne makes another appearance, this time playing Tommy Dorsey's drummer Dave Tough. The entire film is chock full of drums and fantastic scenes:

All Night Long (1962). A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello set in London's 1960s jazz scene. A great tension weighs on Patrick McGoohan's face (indeed his whole body) as he plays with a perplexity of expression. Using a drum solo to move the plot forward is a delightful device. I understand McGoohan learned to play the drums for the part, but I'm still trying to find out whether he actually played on screen / for the soundtrack. Allan Ganley perhaps? In any case, here's a corker:

Great movie posters too:

Harlem-Mania (1929). A Vitaphone short rather than feature length film, this was 1929, and I've still never seen anything quite like Freddie Crump's outstanding, idiosyncratic performance. Accompanied by a satisfying soft shoe, Crump's playing is as precise as it is unorthodox. He comes to view at 2:13. Remain with the clip after the spirited piano solo for more of Crump's entertaining and percussive gymnastics!

As we jump from golden eras of the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s & 60s, we now find ourselves in more modern times. Step Brothers (2008). Because we all fear Will Ferrell's gentlemen parts sullying our instrument. Warning: very colourful language here:

Wayne's World (1992). A sweet Garth (Dana Carvey) has a wonderful fantasy:

Mentions go out to Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) and That Thing You Do (1996).  

And a very large and curious mention goes to the soundtrack of Birdman (2014). I don't believe there has ever been a soundtrack using improvised drum solos to score a film.  Jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez provides the playing which represents the psychosis of the main character. The drums are used to destabilising effect, at times simultaneously cacophonous, jazzy and grooving. The main character walks past the drummer we're hearing in one scene outside, which could have been plausible as he appears to be a busker. But the second time this happens, the drummer is in a tightly closed interior shot. We hear what the character hears (we were hearing it all along anyway) and the play (or film), becomes an unsettling play of a play. At times using two, three and four kit overdubs (rarely done), the drums were the character's unravelling mind.

Here is some fascinating information on the making of the Birdman soundtrack.

Signing off with a sweet little clip from the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000):