Whiplash

“There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job.” (Terence Fletcher, Whiplash)

Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle, is an Oscar nominated film about drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) who enrolls in at a cut throat music conservatory to be mentored by Terence Fletcher (J. K. Simmons) – a sadistic mentor who will stop at nothing to discover his students’ potential. The intriguing idea in this film – the idea that drew me towards it – is the complexity that underlies the simplicity of the plot. The plot is coupled with an extended parallel between the two main characters (mentor and student) as well as specific stylistic choices in cinematography that are integral in showcasing the theme and underlying meaning within this piece of work.

All the choices made in this film are done with significant reason. This is why I always find it so important to focus on the beginning of such a film, as it is often an indicator of what the remainder of the film will be. In this film, we are introduced to our main character, Andrew, in a narrow space presented through a long

shot, a hallway with low-key lighting that appears to be suffocating the viewer. The camera moves on a dolly and slowly zooms in towards the room in which Andrew is drumming in and the diegetic drum sounds are hard to escape. This appears to be a common theme, not only in the beginning of the film, but through the remainder of Andrew’s drumming experience. The room in which Andrew locks himself up in at night is small, dimly lit, and enclosed – instilling the sensation of being trapped and enclosed within an area. Similarly, the director chooses to introduce Andrew in this way to the audience so that we automatically signify this late night practice with Andrew’s dedication as well as his obsession with his ambitions of greatness.

The most important component of this film is the relationship between Andrew and Fletcher. The relationship is peculiarly captivating – it’s fascinating to see these two interact. We find that Andrew admires Fletcher albeit the abuse he must put himself through to gain Fletcher’s approval. Simultaneously, Fletcher has sensed something special in Andrew and relishes using every dreadful tactic he can to push Andrew to the very brink and test Andrew to the very last second. Cinematic elements play an enormous role in establishing this relationship, most prominently through camera shots and movement, editing, lighting, and sound.

  

The most significant feature in the film is the use of close-ups to convey how each of the characters are feeling within particular situations. The most notable moments are seen through the various eyeline matches the director employs in order to let the audience understand how Fletcher and Andrew are feeling in response to the other. By using close-ups in these scenes, we ourselves experience the traumatic psychological and physical pain Andrew undergoes in his attempts to combat his own mentor. Furthermore, we cannot forget the furrowed brows and lingering glare that defines Fletcher’s ruthless attitude. By providing us with a series of eyeline matches and close-ups throughout the film (specifically when these two characters interact), we not only characterize the characters, but learn to connect with them as if we are sitting there in the same room.

Lighting and sound are also significant to the development that occurs in the film. Oftentimes, when Andrew is practicing, there is very low-key lighting that is presented through bottom and side lighting. These sources of light often indicate morally unclear characters – a perfect description of Andrew, who struggles with choosing the correct strategy to gain what he desires. It is interesting to note that this same sort of lighting is often used with Fletcher as well, such as the final performance in which he purposely makes a fool of Andrew. Both characters are morally unclear and choose to execute some questionable decisions, but that is exactly what the director wants to relay to the audience. Both characters are here to achieve a unique and perfect level of musical excellence. Most prominently, sound is key to this film as the diegetic sound is vital in relating the mood of the film as well as the emotional states of the characters themselves. When Andrew is playing the piece in the beginning, the sounds resemble a drumroll, and we are waiting for the climax, for something to go wrong and for Fletcher to get angry again. When Andrew is angry and confused, it is often evident through his fast paced and almost chaotic drumming practice sessions.

My favorite part of this film was the ending – which was the moment at which I realized that this film was a true masterpiece. We finally see Andrew and Fletcher on the same stage – Fletcher conducting and Andrew stuck in a situation in which he must make a life-changing decision. When Andrew makes the decision to keep playing amidst the chaos, the director focalizes the camera to an authorial point of view in which he makes it a point to use extreme-close-ups on Andrew’s sweating face, his bleeding hands, and the sound of the drum that cut so sharply at our ears. 

                         

In this moment we realize that Andrew and Fletcher are mere images of the other – Neiman seeks to find musical excellence with his percussive skills and tireless dedication, and Fletcher does so as a maniacal mentor who demands perfection. Through their shared stubbornness and unwavering desires to pursue their love of music and achievement – they realize (as significant through Fletcher’s final nod of approval to Andrew) that they are truly equals.

“I was there to push people beyond what's expected of them. I believe that's an absolute necessity.” (Terence Fletcher, Whiplash)

Interstellar

“Mankind was born on Earth…it was never meant to die here.”

I’m always reluctant to watch films that are overhyped – I often find myself disappointed. But I suppose it’s hard to find yourself disappointed when you actually feel like a NASA explorer – one who has transcended space and time – by the time you finish a film. This week, I wanted to explore the beautiful cinematography of Interstellar, director by none other than Christopher Nolan (who has also directed movies like Inception and The Dark Knight for those of you who don’t know!). Nolan’s film explores the grand transcendence of space while selling the intimacy of the individual characters – making the film surprisingly relatable, and in other words, humane.

Interestingly, I also wrote about Interstellar for a paper in my Stellar and Galactic Astronomy class – so I consider myself quite the expert in the scientific phenomenon that Nolan chose to explore in this film. While reading about these, I found that the film successfully employs cinematic elements to help us understand the scientific aspects, as well as the literary and dramatic elements, of this film. If you’re ever going to tackle the issue of the fate of humanity, please make sure to call Nolan to assist you on that.

 I want to start with the discussion of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the film. The majority of this film takes place in space – a foreign and unfamiliar place to the majority of the audience. Interestingly, what I noticed right away was that camera shots shot outside the spaceship were accompanied by silence – we could not hear anything. There was no diegetic sound at all, and I believe this was done for multiple reasons. Sound in space only occurs in the form of electromagnetic vibrations that pulsate in similar wavelengths, sounds the human ear cannot perceive. Was Nolan only doing this to adhere to scientific accuracy? During these shots, I found myself holding my breath, waiting for something to happen – it was almost as if I was holding my breath in space myself. By stripping the shots from space of diegetic sound, Nolan communicates the emptiness, the vastness, and the mysteriousness of space. 

Furthermore, the actual musical score of this film is very interesting, because the diegetic sound tends to grow noticeably louder as the action in the film grows more exciting or intense. Typically, we associate a change in the pace of the music or simply the excitement factor of the music as a whole, but I noticed that the music always grew immensely louder when the intensity of action increased. An example of this is seen when Cooper is about to dock Endurance onto the rotating body in space. As a viewer, I think Nolan’s decision to use this type of music score is important in signaling to the viewer than something exciting is about to happen without distracting the viewer from the action at hand.

Throughout this film, I developed the feeling that Nolan was playing with two very different ideas: the grade nature of unexplored space and the fate of humanity versus the intimate nature of the relationship between Cooper and his team as well as Cooper and his family (specifically his daughter Murphy). Cinematic elements are critical in communicating these two very different ideas in the same movie.

Nolan often uses establishing shots as a means of setting the space of the scene – the spacecraft may not be very large but the outer environment is immensely vast. While the crew members inside the spacecraft are attempting to navigate through a tough area, or simply traveling through the emptiness of space, the camera often uses editing techniques in which it cuts to shots of the spacecraft in space and moves in dolly fashion to follow the action of the spacecraft. By cutting from shots inside the spacecraft to those outside the spacecraft Nolan successfully renews a sense of suspense and tension in the viewer – as outsiders we are afraid that something may go wrong. Furthermore, when the crew members are on different planets the camera focuses on the scenes in specific ways to stir specific feelings and responses. Oftentimes, camera framing techniques use long shots and wide shots to film the crew members on the planets.

The camera also shoots from extremely high angles, completely zoomed out, in which it looks down on the crew members. These two techniques successfully capture the surrounding scene of the individuals – planets that are vast, barren, and empty. This illustrates the relatively small nature of the individuals compared to the grand issue they are tackling – both literally and metaphorically. Furthermore, the barren land that surrounds the individuals instills a feeling of loneliness, isolation, and hopelessness in the audience. This is done intentionally, so that the audience is always hoping for some sort of big break.

As I mentioned earlier, Nolan also makes several key decisions in cinematography that aim to sell the individual moments of intimacy that help characterize this film. Most importantly is Cooper’s incessant need to finish the mission as soon as possible so that he may return to his family. The camera often captures Cooper’s almost aggressive nature by zooming in to his face in order to allow for close-ups that emphasize Cooper’s hardened face – he is serious when it comes to his family, and there is no time for playing around. One of the most touching scenes in the whole film is when he returns to the spacecraft from Planet Miller and finds that 23 years have passed since he first left, and he watches the radio messages that have been left from his family.

The camera makes it a point to gradually pan over onto Cooper’s face and zoom into his face, using a soft frontal lighting from the screen to emphasize his eyes (which have tears in them). This scene captures the intensity to which Cooper misses his family and the desperate feeling of longing that is left in him. Simultaneously, Nolan keeps the audience connected with Murphy (Cooper’s daughter) by cross cutting what is occurring in space with what is occurring on Earth – we see Earth subjectively, through Murphy’s point of view. By cross cutting between space and earth, Nolan reminds us that there is a connection that transcends Earth and space – love.

 The climax of the film occurs when Cooper is put into an alternate dimension – a visual representation of the dimension of time – the idea is both intriguing and revolutionary. But I don’t want to spoil the main idea of this film by discussing it – seriously watch this film!

“Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”