I have always loved the protrayal of villains in film and TV. From Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad) to Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) to Phllip Stroh in Major Crimes>. I watched Whiplash for the second time over the past couple of days and needed something to write about. JK Simmons portrays an egomaniacal studio band director (Terrance Fletcher), at an invented prestigious music school and Manhattan. He rules his musicians with an iron fist and frightens them in to musical perfection. Simmons shaved head and toned body covered in a tight black tee shirt makes him even more menacing as he struts around the practice room calling out the measures to be played. One sax player is brought to tears and puts his head down, collects his horn and leaves.
The young protagonist is a drummer of certain skills. The music is classic big band with all the sections having solo parts. The tune "Caravan", is played as well as the title song "Whiplash". While actor Miles Teller has played the drums since his youth, he needed greater training and clever editing for this role.
Not to reveal too much, Teller plays till his hands blister and bleed and he gets embarrassed in the ending scene, both Fletcher and he come together for the final solo and there is moment of redemption for both characters. If you appreciate musical process and the rigors of achieving perfection, you might enjoy this 2014 film (Netflix).
Saw the video of the reconstituted Beatles with their last song, Now and Then. AI assisted in getting the voice of John Lennon from an old cassette tape from Yoko along with the simple tune. Listened to it on pandora and later viewed the video on Apple TV. It is a recollection of my misspent youth and really got to me. I miss being happy and hopeful with a healthy dose of silly. We, the listeners, appreciate all the effort it took to put this together and it is a suitable coda for the band.
Its been a quiet morning for me in that Judy and Katey wend to PT with some success
all for now
stay safe
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