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Whiplash (2014)
Beyond the illusion of greatness
Watched it for the first time when it first came out and was absolutely absorbed in its toxicity. Back then I thought Fletcher truly believed in Andrew and was really trying to encourage him, and Fletcher was only being too intense. That intensity created an illusion for audience thinking that you can only excel being pushed to an extreme. I was convinced by the illusion. Andrew was too. He played it till he had nothing left but he succeeded. That's what I kept in my memory about this film.
Yesterday I watched it for the second time and I was surprised at how it's so different from my memory. Fletcher has no charisma like the way I remembered of him. He was simply mean, rude, narcissistic, and petty. A bully. He wanted to make his own Charlie Parker to prove his own worth but he just could not accept that he has failed in coaching others. So he blamed others and said "I've never met my Charlie Parker" - what a typical example a self-pity narcissists.
The best part was when Andrew decided to go against Fletcher and led the band on stage. Not only was he completely out of Fletcher's control, he had made Fletcher follow his lead. It was Andrew's way of saying "screw you you pathetic fxxk who knows nothing about coaching". That was the moment when Andrew broke the illusion Fletcher had created. But only for a moment. The irony was when Fletcher gave him the affirmative look, Andrew smiled back. Not a proud smile, but a smile a child would give when being praised by parents. It didn't end with succeed, it ended with terror, the terror that Andrew's just gonna end like the other kid coached by Fletcher.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this movie. I just love it for a different reason now. I used to love it for its toxic aesthetics and its insanity, but now I love it for the terrifying tragic it embedded throughout the film.
Here and Now (2018)
I was going to give a 8 before I saw other reviews
To be honest, I enjoyed it. It touches topics I'm interested, like reverse discrimination, religion, and others. It relates to me so well that I somehow completed the missing parts of the show in my mind.
But just as others reviews pointed out, touching was the only thing it did. It didn't go far. It stopped in an award place, as if the show is telling the audience that "oh we don't know how to deal with this, so you think about it, like philosophically."
The characters are great. The topics are intriguing. But the show has wasted those.