I look forward to fall because of the indie movie season. And every year, I am always pleased with what indie filmmakers are putting on the table. This year has been no different.

Whiplash is the most intense movie I’ve seen this year (even more tense than The Rover, The Drop and Fury). JK Simmons has officially crossed over into the “You were a little too good in that role, and now I can’t trust you in real life” club.

This unofficial club includes Laurence Fishburne for his depiction of Ike Turner, Robert De Niro in Cape Fear, Christian Bale in, well everything, Edward Norton in American History X, Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers, Keith David in Requiem for a Dream, Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown, Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, and lastly, Giovanni Ribisi. I love him in most everything, but he’s just a notch too slick. It’s kind of inexplicable.

I digress, Whiplash not only has the best trailer of the year, but it emotionally lives up to its name. It tells the story of Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller), a talented young jazz drummer, who attends a prestigious music conservatory. Andrew is obsessed with making it into the top jazz ensemble in the school, led by Terrence Fletcher (shudder, as played by JK Simmons).

Fletcher is notorious for pushing his students to the max for great performances. Nonetheless, Andrew wants in, even though it may cost him more than he could ever imagine.

Teller, who usually plays either cuddly teen protagonists (The Spectacular Now) or mildly dickish antagonists (Divergent), has really stepped up his game as Andrew. Watching him punch a hole through a snare drum and play so hard that his hands become bloody mush as tears trail down his defeated face has made me a believer in what this kid is selling the world.

But it is without a doubt, Simmons, who showed up to steal the movie and the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2015. The nuanced, over-the-top, disappointed father figure/abuser-performance that he portrayed was nothing short of breathtaking.

And just as the movie seemed to be heading toward a predictable ending, director/screenwriter Damien Chazelle lifted the curtain for one of the most finely shot musical denouements I have ever witnessed. The acting, musical cues, cinematography, instrumentation, and visual execution make this a must-see movie for any lover of film.

Bravo, Simmons. Encore, Chazelle.