Whiplash (2014)

Damien Chazelle strips musical virtuosity of any pastoral romance, framing jazz drumming as a brutal contest of kinetic endurance and physical torment. Miles Teller's blood-flecked cymbals capture the ruthless reality of technical refinement pushed past reasonable human endurance. It is a thrillingly uncomfortable interrogation of whether greatness requires psychological self-immolation under the gaze of a despotic mentor.