Primarily two actors and a jazz score, but the result is a crackling good drama that feels almost like a thriller. Smart, stylish and intense.
– Rafer Guzman,
Newsday,
6 Nov 2014
fresh:
'Whiplash' is electric from beginning to end, a musical story of obsession, frustration and outright cruelty built on two knockout performances.
– Tom Long,
Detroit News,
4 Jan 2015
rotten:
Such a cooked-up piece of claptrap that I half expected Darth Vader to pick up the baton.
– Peter Rainer,
Christian Science Monitor,
4 Jan 2015
fresh:
It would be an insult to call Chazelle a "promising" filmmaker, as this movie doesn't indicate mere potential - it is evidence of authentic, sometimes blazing talent.
– Richard Roeper,
Chicago Sun-Times,
4 Jan 2015
fresh:
The movie swings - physically, musically, psychologically, racially.