20 Greatest Movie Moments Of The 2010s

Damian Chazelle certainly knows how to end a movie.

This conclusion to Whiplash, in which Andrew (Miles Teller) does a ferocious impromptu musical performance and, after many unbearably tense minutes of playing, finally wins over his abusive music teacher Fletcher (J.K. Simmons, who won a deserved Oscar for his performance), is potentially the most intense film ending in history.

It's a masterpiece of sound, cinematography and especially film editing that makes for palm-sweating, heart-stopping cinema and it produces levels of tension and stress you'd normally expect from a thriller or action movie. Seriously, you'll forget to breathe.

Not only is it an unforgettable nail-biter, but there are huge dramatic stakes too and viewers will be on the edge of their seats in anticipation over whether or not Andrew will finally win Fletcher's respect. At the end of the sequence, when Fletcher smiles and nods to Andrew and Andrew realises he's finally won Fletcher over, it's hard not to cheer.

Frankly, Whiplash is worth watching for this masterful ending alone (and this is coming from someone who doesn't like Whiplash very much).