“Whiplash” (2014)
Damien Chazelle made his feature debut in 2009 with “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” but the director truly broke through in 2014 when he made “Whiplash,” which turns the typical teacher-student mentorship film into a tense, nerve-racking thriller. Miles Teller stars as aspiring jazz drummer Andrew, whose dream of attending a prestigious New York City conservatory turns into a nightmare thanks to his overbearing, abusive instructor Fletcher (JK Simmons). Simmons is charismatically loathsome in the role, but what makes “Whiplash” really pop is that Andrew is as single-minded and stubborn as Fletcher is demeaning and cruel — and the friction between the two is so spectacular that its dramatically unclear which will snap first. Add in a gorgeous score and laser-focused direction from Chazelle and you have a film that makes beautiful music. —WC