The Devil's Violinist (2015)

Less an accurate biopic, and more an enthusiastic showcase for the talents of David Garrett (its renowned violinist star) Bernard Rose’s entertaining, and occasionally sensational, period piece about the life and career of Niccolo Paganini comes to UK DVD courtesy of Metrodome.

After a couple of brief scenes showing the soon-to-be-virtuoso as a child, followed by his first attempts to gain public recognition, we jump forward to 1830. Paganini is at the height of his career and is acclaimed throughout Europe. Along the way he has been involved in a vast number of affairs and scandals, has acquired an almost pantomime villain-like manager in the form of Urbani (Jared THE QUIET ONES Harris), and is practically penniless having lost all his money at cards. 

Salvation comes in the form of England’s John Watson (Christian McKay) who wants to bring Paganini to the Royal Opera House for a series of concerts. Watson sends Paganini the money to come over. Paganini spends it. Watson sends more. Paganini spends that as well. Now almost destitute, Watson finally manages to get Paganini across to the UK, where he has to live in Watson’s furniture and servant-depleted house. There he meets Watson’s daughter Charlotte (Andrea Deck) a budding soprano who refuses to be seduced by his charms...at first.

Anyone looking for historical accuracy in THE DEVIL’S VIOLINIST is going to be disappointed. However, if you want to see Mr Garrett giving his all on the violin in a movie this is the place to be. He’s obviously not an actor, but since when did that ever stop the movies casting David Bowie, Sting, Roger Daltrey et al in starring roles? Bernard Rose very sensibly gives as little dialogue to Mr Garrett as possible and lets all the acting take place around him. Rose is no Ken Russell, but in this case that’s probably a good thing, as Garrett’s performances are wild enough, and they benefit from the relative restraint of the rest of the picture.

The cast is eminently watchable. Jared Harris resembles Robert Helpmann’s child catcher in a big hat and doesn’t quite bring the gravitas the movie would benefit from in this role. Joely Richardson does an interesting turn as a Fleet Street hack - all top hat and ginger curls with a bit of a ‘Gor Blimey’ accent, and Andrea Deck as Charlotte gives the best, and most understated, performance as the soprano who gets the chance to shine. Watch out also for Olivia D’Abo (CONAN THE DESTROYER) as a Paganini-protester, and Helmut Berger (!) as Lord Burgher.

I’ve always been a fan of writer-director Bernard Rose, who made both CANDYMAN and the earlier PAPERHOUSE. I liked DEVIL’S VIOLINIST more than IMMORTAL BELOVED, his movie about Beethoven with Gary Oldman. Here, as well as giving the music its rightful centre stage, Rose also demonstrates an eye for the gothic that will have some wishing he was making ‘proper horror films’ for the resurrected Hammer.

          Musical highlights include some of Paganini’s own compositions, as well as a wealth of material from Schubert and Rachmaninov. And there’s plenty of it, which after all is what a film like this should be all about. Metrodome’s DVD contains no extras, but if you’re looking for an entertaining period picture about Paganini and featuring some electrifying solos this hits the spot nicely. 

Metrodome are releasing Bernard Rose's THE DEVIL'S VIOLINIST on Region 2 DVD on 22nd June 2015

Whiplash (2015)

The mad impresario subgenre gets a smashing contribution in the form of Damien Chazelle’s directorial debut and featuring an Oscar / BAFTA / Golden Globe winning performance from J K Simmons. Oscars and BAFTAs were also picked up for editing and sound mixing, and it’s a delight to report that WHIPLASH was an entirely deserving win in all three categories.

Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) is a first year music student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York. His aspiration is to become a great jazz drummer, perhaps even one of the greats. One night while he is practicing he receives a visit from highly respected conductor / teacher and all-round terrifying force of nature Terence Fletcher (J K Simmons). Fletcher invites Andrew to be a part of his studio band, where students are regularly subjected to trials of humiliation as Fletcher strives for jazz excellence through a combination of high standards and outright sadism. Neimann makes the grade but turns out to be just as much the obsessive student as Fletcher is the obsessive teacher, with the pair ultimately threatening to cause each others’ downfall as the madness that so often seems to accompany genius (certainly in pictures like this) threatens to destroy them.

Prior to making WHIPLASH Damien Chazelle wrote the screenplay for GRAND PIANO, a fine Hitchockian thriller (with overtones of de Palma) which turned out to be my favourite film of last year. WHIPLASH is less thriller and more autobiography, with Chazelle having based the character of Fletcher on one of his own teachers when he was a jazz student. It’s a fascinating account of the lengths both teacher and student will go to in order to achieve excellence, depicted in an admirably brutal way. Indeed, despite the musical skill on display here WHIPLASH is unlikely to have parents encouraging their little children to take up the drums, at least not if they want them to be able to grow up leading a normal life.

Despite a fine script and all that award-winning editing, the success of a film like WHIPLASH is ultimately going to rest on the shoulders of its stars. Both leads here acquit themselves admirably. J K Simmons deserves his award, and hopefully his blood pressure is back down to normal by now after his utterly focused, frighteningly intense turn as Fletcher. Just as good, though, is Miles Teller, who played all his own drum parts and has the bigger job of having to display a considerable degree of emotional range, sometimes veering close to madness and dislikeability, while still keeping the audience on his side. It’s a more subtle performance than it first appears, and Teller provides an excellent match for Simmons.

Sony’s Blu-ray features a variety of extras, including a commentary track from Chazelle and Simmons, the original 17 minute short film on which the feature was based, a trailer, an on-stage Q&A from the Toronto Film Festival and Timekeepers, a 45 minute documentary featuring a plethora of drummers discussing their craft. The DVD has the commentary and the Q&A but the other extras are exclusive to the Blu-ray.

         WHIPLASH is an intense, absorbing, breathtaking and fascinating look at the world of high-powered jazz musicianship. You don’t have to like jazz to get it. In fact I’ll admit I’m not much of a fan and I thought it was excellent. And in some ways perhaps that’s the greatest praise of all.

Sony is releasing Damien Chazelle's WHIPLASH on Blu-ray (all regions) and Region 2 DVD on 1st June 2015