94
Whiplash review
A jazz drummer and a conductor engage in a two-hour war of attrition over whether greatness justifies cruelty. The film refuses to answer, which is wh…
★★★★½ 4.8/5
Damien Chazelle
Chazelle is a jazz drummer turned filmmaker whose work is consistently organised around ambition, artistic obsession, and the cost of excellence. He is the youngest winner of the Academy Award for Best Director, and his films use musical rhythm as a structural principle even when they are not musicals.
Signature and approach
- Editing structured as musical rhythm
- Subjects about obsession and artistic cost
- CinemaScope staging and long takes
- Ambition presented without moralising
- 2Films reviewed
- 91.5Average score
- 1985Born
- AmericanNationality
Films by Damien Chazelle in our collection
Ordered by release date. Every entry links to the full review.
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94
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89
La La Land review
A jazz pianist and an aspiring actress fall in love in Los Angeles, and the film builds to a finale that has divided audiences since release.
★★★★½ 4.6/5
Filmography reviewed
Year, genre, runtime and score for each film.
| Film | Year | Genre | Runtime | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiplash | 2014 | Drama | 106 min | 94 |
| La La Land | 2016 | Romance | 128 min | 89 |
Reading Damien Chazelle in context
This page collects every film by Damien Chazelle that we have reviewed in full, along with our average score across that body of work. It is not a complete filmography: our library is curated, and we only list films we have written about at length.
For a wider view, the genre hubs place this work alongside films by other directors, and the ranked lists show where these titles sit against the rest of their decade or genre.
Explore the wider collection
Genre hubs and ranked lists are the fastest way to read around a director's work.