I found Whiplash to be a very inspiring film. Musical films always tend to inspire me. This one reminded me a lot of Raise Your Voice, but in a less teen flick manner. Although I do love watching teen flicks, this story was better fitted to the realistic way it was created.
I found the level of motivation in the protagonist highly admirable. The acting was brilliant, fantastic, brutal, believable. There was no ´too much´nor ´too little´. Everything was there. I loved that there were no overdramatized moments, it made the performances honest and realisic.
I´m not sure about the production design. It was very believable in the sense that it blended in with the realism of the story and setting. I suppose it wasn´t meant to pop out. I know people say production design is supposed to be unnoticable, but I think that´s dumb. If it´s supposed to go unnoticed, than whhhy bother? The reason why I like it is because I remember good designs, amazing designs, and dreadful designs. I think there´s a limit to how unnoticeable one should make a design. But I´m not experienced enough to determine where this limit goes.
Benita Kvinlaug 