“I’d rather die drunk, broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remember who I was.”
In the brilliant Whiplash, a young drumming prodigy works so hard to perfect his craft that he ends up bleeding onto his drum set. Yet, that pales in comparison to the sacrifices made by a budding pianist in Nocturne, who literally makes a deal with the devil in return for fame and adoration. There’s no prizes for guessing how that goes, but this brisk and entertaining thriller will keep you grimly fascinated till the end.
The latest offering from Amazon Studios and Blumhouse, this follows Juliet (Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney), a withdrawn high-schooler who aspires to be a successful pianist, but seems destined to live in the shadow (resentfully turning the piano sheets) of her more gifted twin sister Vivian (Madison Iseman). When the top-rated pianist at her school mysteriously commits suicide, Juliet is presented with a chance at the spotlight when she stumbles upon the former student’s notebook. One ill-advised incantation later, and things creepily start turning in her favour…
From first-time writer-director Zu Quirke, this is not a film aiming to reinvent the genre wheel as such. As is slightly common in movies about demonic bargains, it’s initially difficult to believe that Juliet can ignore so many warning signs – when has reading from a book covered in demonic symbols ever ended well? From here, as Juliet’s fortune improves – but at what cost? – it follows a fairly predictable course, with a demonic prophesy that feels slightly spoon-fed to the audience.
There may not be much new here, but Quirke makes the most of the tools at his disposal, with a level of restraint and control that feels uncommon in the genre. Displaying a clear conviction in his subject matter, Quirke makes clever use of lighting and an off-kilter score to place you in the deteriorating mind space of Juliet, helping you understand her dark decisions. It’s also sold by a driven performance from Sweeney, who shows enough desperation and overlooked fury (at times reminiscent of that scene in Carrie) to convince you that selling her soul might have been an attractive option. Spoiler – it isn’t.
With assured work from Quirke and Sweeney, this is a lean and effective thriller with a hell of a curtain call.
In case you haven’t heard, Oscar nominations were announced this morning. There were some big surprises and some big snubs and we’ve been talking nonstop all day about it. We’re going to be posting our thoughts over the coming weeks. Until then, here is a full list of nominations.
Best Picture “American Sniper” “Birdman” “Boyhood” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “The Imitation Game” “Selma” “The Theory of Everything” “Whiplash”
Best Director Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman” Richard Linklater, “Boyhood” Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher” Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”
Best Actress Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night” Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything” Julianne Moore, “Still Alice” Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl” Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Best Actor Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher" Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper” Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game” Michael Keaton, “Birdman” Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood” Laura Dern, “Wild” Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game” Emma Stone, “Birdman” Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
Best Supporting Actor Robert Duvall, “The Judge” Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood” Edward Norton, “Birdman” Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher” J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Best Adapted Screenplay Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice” Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash” Jason Hall, “American Sniper” Anthony McCarten, “The Theory of Everything” Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”
Best Original Screenplay Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, “Foxcatcher" Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler” Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, “Birdman” Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Best Foreign Language Film “Leviathan” “Ida” “Tangerines” “Timbuktu” “Wild Tales”
Best Documentary Feature “CITIZENFOUR” “Finding Vivian Maier” “Last Days in Vietnam” “The Salt in the Earth” “Virunga”
Best Animated Feature "Big Hero 6” “The Boxtrolls” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” “Song of the Sea” “The Tale of The Princess Kaguya”
Best Film Editing “American Sniper” “Boyhood” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “The Imitation Game” “Whiplash”
Best Original Song “Everything is Awesome” from “The LEGO Movie” (written by Shawn Patterson) “Glory” from “Selma” (written by Common and John Legend) “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights” (written by Diane Warren) “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” (written by Glen Campbell) “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again” (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)
Best Original Score Alexandre Desplat, “The Grand Budapest Hotel" Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game” Johann Johannsson, “The Theory of Everything” Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner” Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”
Best Cinematography Roger Deakins, “Unbroken” Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman" Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner” Robert Yeoman, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”
Best Costume Design “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “Inherent Vice” “Into the Woods” “Maleficent" "Mr. Turner”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling “Foxcatcher” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “Guardians of the Galaxy”
Best Production Design “The Grand Budapest Hotel” “The Imitation Game” “Interstellar” “Into the Woods” “Mr. Turner”
Best Sound Editing “American Sniper” “Birdman” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” “Interstellar” “Unbroken”
Best Sound Mixing “American Sniper” “Birdman” “Interstellar” “Unbroken” “Whiplash”
Best Visual Effects “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” “Guardians of the Galaxy” “Interstellar” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”
Best Short Film, Live Action “Aya” “Boogaloo and Graham” “Butter Lamp” “Parvaneh” “The Phone Call”
Best Short Film, Animated “The Bigger Picture” “The Dam Keeper” “Feast” “Me and My Moulton” “A Single Life”
Best Documentary, Short Subject “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” “Joanna” “Our Curse” “The Reaper” “White Earth”
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats.
Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life.
Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability and his sanity.
Vannak napok, amikor túlárad bennem az energia, ám muszáj takarékon tartani magam, különben pont akkor égek ki, amikor a leginkább képben kellene lennem. Ez esetben most pörögnék, lenne is mára program, ám holnap utazok ‘dam-ba, s úgy tűnik, hogy amint leszállunk az Eindhovenből érkező transzferről, máris vethetjük bele magunkat az éjszakába, mivel a házigazdáink éppen nem melóznak aznap este.…
