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Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, 2014) has a 'banging' future ahead of himself

Despite looking half his age and slightly hungover and dopey – Damien Chazelle is young, intelligent, creative – and ultimately, the next big thing.

Damien Chazelle

At only 30 years old - he is an exceptionally young writer, and director. 'Whiplash', which came out this January; is his first 'recognised' film; and if it's anything to come by; there is plenty more where that came from.

In my opinion - the value of both a brilliant scriptwriter and director is indescribable; the ability displayed by Chazelle in perfectly articulating his ideas onto paper and then into film is second-to-none. What's more astounding is the fact he began writing the script, according to an interview on 'Academy Conversations', at the same time leading actor in 'Whiplash', Miles Teller; starred in 'Rabbit Hole' (Mitchell, 2010). To have such a superb writing skill and directing skill - a combination clearly potent, exemplified by the likes of Quentin Tarantino (it is arguable Whiplash is as disturbing as some of Tarantino's scenes); is an honourable feat, at an especially young age. The immense praise he has recieved at various film festivals, including the film's premier at Sundance festival - should continue.

Furthermore - Chazelle has some superb cinematography skills. He was recently quoted saying that, nowadays; music sequences in 'flicks' (films, I had to get the name of the blog somewhere in there..) tend to be filmed using 'seven cameras', and then 'all the work is done in the cutting room'. However - Chazelle did it differently for the superb Whiplash drum scenes - using various cameras and cutting at specific times to ensure the cutting-rate was asynchronous with the images.

Another name who deserves more than a mention is leading actor, Miles Teller. Although I believe the term 'leading actor' and 'supporting actor' are made redundant by a film such as this. The pair of Miles Teller and J.K Simmons reflect and play off one another superbly; a combination that seemed inevitable.

It is clear throughout the film that Chazelle had Teller in mind when writing the script - Teller perfectly portrays a character deeply motivated, whilst remaining bitter and weak. A perfect example of this is the scene where Fletcher (Simmons) brings Teller's character, Niemann - to tears; but tears which are resentful and symbolic meanwhile, and tears which make you physically ache.

Teller's tears beginning to form

Furthermore - I was amazed to discover that every drum hit throughout the film is played by Teller himself; a feat which was partially hidden through Chazelle's astounding extreme close ups. Despite the fact Teller has been playing the drums for around a decade - he says the difficult change from 'conventional' drum style, to 'jazz' drum style cannot be underestimated. It took him four-hour lessons three days a week for about a month prior to production to produce such a masterful performance. This kind of dedication is normally commendable at the Oscars; proved by the fact that despite Di Caprio's role in Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese, 2014) was brilliant, Mathew McConaughey's bodily transformation, on top of his performance - earnt him best actor. However - I will be surprised if Teller receives an Oscar - he is 27 years young, and if his transformation from the 'dumb college kid' in films like Project X and 21 and over to Whiplash is anything to go by - this is his first performance deserved of immense praise. 

J.K Simmons, however - was involved from the very beginning; playing the almost-insane, Fletcher, in the 18 minute long preview showed at Sundance to gain funding. The role was perfect for Fletcher - he displayed immense efficiency and anger, as well as a host of other engaging emotions throughout the film; perfectly highlighted by this scene:

Despite the array of wonderful acting in this film - my final praise goes to Chazelle's filmmaking skills - displayed through a variety of extreme close ups that, in one case, reveal real blood from Teller's own hands, to low canted angles, through to tracking shots. The opening shot in any film is vital - but Chazelle's in this film is perfect - a tracking shot which slowly reveals Teller in all his magnificence, unnurtured, but talented -  a shot which immediately reveals the prestige of the flick.

'Whiplash' (Chazelle, 2015) is a must-see