Whiplash tells the story of following your dreams no matter the adversity in the form of a wannabe jazz drummer by the name of Andrew, who is played by Miles Teller.

Andrew attends a very prestigious conservatory of music in order to make the most of the talent he has, and to realize his dream of becoming “one of the greats.”

This drive to succeed is met by an instructor by the name of Fletcher, who believes that “there are no two words more harmful than good job.”

What ensues is the drama that revolves around these two characters’s push-and-pull relationship that comes from the mutual need for success.

Teller shines in his first major dramatic performance, especially following 21 and Over, which I considered a dud.

He arrived to the set of the movie having prior knowledge of how to play the drums, but the amount of dedication that had to have been taken to master the percussion scenes in the movie is inspiring in itself.

Even having no knowledge of what makes good jazz, the audience is easily engulfed in the elongated scenes that show the blood, sweat, and tears that go into being a great percussionist.

All of that said, this great performance was matched by another in J.K. Simmons, who plays Fletcher.

The intensity that drives the character is brought to the screen with perfection by Simmons and is palpable in the exchanges between these two characters.

Who ever would have thought a movie about jazz music would have been nominated for this many awards in modern filmmaking?

This is a statement to how well the movie was done; from a script that uses simple conversations to develop engrossing relationships to the cinematography that makes practicing drums an edge of your seat experience, this film makes simple, great.

After watching the movie, it was easy to become a fan of everyone involved.

It may even make a jazz fan out of the viewer.