Whiplash is a musical movie released on January 16, 2014, at the Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land), it stars Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, and Melissa Benoist. The feature illustrates a student-teacher relationship and the outcome of pushing the boundaries.
Everyone has aspirations in life to achieve greatness at something. For Andrew Neimann (played by Miles Teller), becoming the greatest drum player has been his lifetime goal. Thus, the reason why he attends the prestigious “Shaffer Conservatory of Music.”
Competitiveness plays a role at Shaffer Conservatory, where the recruitment and selection are done by respected band professor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). During the selection process for his Shaffer Conservatory Studio Band, Andrew gets invited for tryouts.
Andrew quickly learns that he is not an ordinary professor. Mr. Fletcher is strict, loud, curses, and even goes as far as to expel students from his class for being “out of tune.” Furthermore, he realizes that he will have to fight for the main drummer’s spot.
But not everything is drumming for Andrew. He starts a relationship with Nicole (Melissa Benoist). Nevertheless, his relationship with his family is distanced. His father, Jim Neimann (Paul Reiser), a failed writer-turned-teacher, isn’t fond of Andrew’s chosen path.
During the first band competition, the main drummer doesn’t know the song “Whiplash” by heart but Andrew does. Therefore, he performs it, earning him the main spot. However, he realizes that winning is the easiest part, the challenge is maintaining it.
Consequently, drumming becomes an obsession for Andrew. Having a relationship is no longer in his schedule. Thus, he breaks up his short-lived relationship with Nicole. After hard practice, he feels confident and ready to prove why he deserves the main spot.
On the way to the band’s next competition, the bus in which he is traveling breaks down. Therefore, he rents a car but collides. Bruised and wounded, he plays the drums mediocrely. Mr. Fletcher stops the band’s live performance, which infuriates Andrew, who decides to fight him.
Indeed, not all students could handle Mr. Flechter’s teaching methods. So, Andrew becomes one of the students to testify against him which calls for his suspension. One night they coincide at a jazz bar, where Fletcher finally reveals why he is so hard on his students.
“There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job.'”
-Mr. Fletcher, Whiplash (2014)
Fletcher’s goal for his students was to reach excellence, and he could only do it by pushing their boundaries. This message is so truthful. A “good job” will lead to becoming comfortable with what we are doing and settle, preventing us from unlocking our high-life greatness.
The pinnacle of the movie doesn’t arrive until the end. At a new competition, Andrew plays the song “Caravan” where he finally reaches his greatness with the guidance of Fletcher himself.
A rare in cinematic, where the villain triumphs as much as the protagonist. To Andrew’s father, it is more than a song. As he watches his son executing the drums, he can only imagine what he could have become had he never given up on his dreams of becoming a writer (personal interpretation).
The role fits perfectly for Miles Teller, who is a self-taught drummer. Whiplash received positive reviews upon its release and won multiple accolades including J.K. Simmons’ “Best Supporting Actor” at the 2015 Oscars.
Watch the teaser in the link below.
- “Whiplash” movie. Directed by Damien Chazelle (STX Entertainment, 2014). ↩︎
- “Whiplash” movie. Directed by Damien Chazelle (STX Entertainment, 2014). ↩︎
- “Whiplash” movie. Directed by Damien Chazelle (STX Entertainment, 2014). ↩︎
- “Whiplash” movie. Directed by Damien Chazelle (STX Entertainment, 2014). ↩︎
