'lash

I watched the film “Whiplash” last night. It’s about a drummer, so I expected to be disappointed by the inaccuracies or jealous of the on-screen, on-skin technical prowess. In the end, I ignored the musical aspects of the film entirely and focussed on the story. If you haven’t seen it – and it was released in 2013, so I’m not going to worry about spoiling anything – it’s about a young drumming prodigy and his band leader who, maybe, pushes him too hard. I would guess film students would tell you it has undercurrents of a father/son relationship, a battle between good and evil intentions, and an investigation into whether there is ever ‘too much’ when it comes to inspiring youngsters towards greatness. I just liked it for its simplicity: Drummer wants to succeed; Teacher tries to get him to work harder; conflict ensues. I found the long-drawn-out end concert a tad overlong, and I’m not really a fan of jazz in the first place, but all-in-all it was a good watch.

Jesus – when did I start typing blogs like a pretentious wanky arts critic????

Good to be on a bit of a movie-watching run though. Now ‘the nights are pulling in’ (as we say in Norfolk) I’m able to fit an evening film in between Other Duties and Bedtime. Tonight’s offering was ‘Right At Your Door’ which was okay, but a lot less impressive than last night. If Whiplash was Buddy Rich, then this film was the drummer from Foo Fighters.

RC 30-8-19