I MUST have watched the wrong movie. The reviews for this film could in no way apply to the contrived claptrap I've just seen. Perhaps the positive reviews here were intended for that 1974 masterpiece House of Whipcord.

The movie called Whiplash that I saw stars J.K. Simmons as Terence, a music teacher who can slap a face with such force as to make General Patton wince. The film also stars Miles Teller as Andrew, a student of Terence's who yearns to learn from him how to properly play the drums. Andrew accomplishes this by volunteering to let his teacher play the bongos on his face.

I won't say that Damien Chazelle's direction is heavy-handed, but I would probably prefer to stick my head in Andrew's bass drum during the climactic scene than to endure watching said scene again.

A word of advice to anyone considering seeing this film; go to YouTube instead and do a search for Buddy Rich. You will see the greatest drummer ever, and spare yourself the agony of viewing this over-the-top, trite, clichéd, eye-roll inducing effort. Your eyes and your ears will thank you for it.