Whiplash is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It depicts the relationship between an ambitious jazz drumming student (Miles Teller and an abusive instructor (J.K. Simmons). Paul Reiser and Melissa Benoist co-star.
Whiplash premiered in competition in the US Dramatic Category at the2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2014, as the festival’s opening film. Sony Pictures Worldwide acquired the international distribution rights.[ The film opened in limited release domestically in the United States and Canada on October 10, 2014, gradually expanding to over 500 screens and finally closing on March 26, 2015. The film grossed $49 million on a production budget of $3.3 million.
The film received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise for Simmons’s performance and Chazelle’s screenplay. At the 87th Academy Awards, Whiplash won Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Supporting Actor for Simmons, and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
Plot:
Andrew Neiman is a first-year jazz student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. He has been playing drums from a young age, and he aspires to become a world-class drummer like Buddy Rich. Famed conductor Terence Fletcher invites him into his Studio Band as the alternate for core drummer Carl Tanner. Fletcher is harsh on his students. When the band rehearses the Hank Levy piece “Whiplash” and Andrew struggles to keep the tempo, Fletcher hurls a chair at him, slaps him, and berates him in front of the ensemble.
At a jazz competition, Carl’s folder is misplaced while Andrew is guarding it. Carl cannot play without it, and Andrew tells Fletcher that he can perform “Whiplash” from memory. After a successful performance, Fletcher promotes Andrew to core drummer. Soon after, Fletcher recruits Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from Andrew’s former lower-level ensemble within the conservatory. Andrew believes Connolly is a less talented drummer than him, and is infuriated when Fletcher promotes Connolly to core. Determined to impress, Andrew practices until his hands bleed, and he breaks up with his girlfriend Nicole to focus on his musical ambitions. After a grueling five-hour audition with Fletcher and the other drummers in the class, in which Fletcher kicks furniture and screams at him, Andrew earns back the core spot.
On the way to another competition, the bus Andrew is riding breaks down. He rents a car, but he arrives late, then realizes he left his drumsticks at the rental office. He races back to retrieve them, but after doing so his car is broadsided by a semi. He crawls from the wreckage, runs back to the theater, and arrives on stage bloody and injured. When he struggles to play “Caravan”, faltering due to his injuries, Fletcher halts the performance and dismisses Andrew. Horrified and enraged at Fletcher’s extreme lack of compassion, Andrew attacks Fletcher in front of the audience, after which he is dismissed from Shaffer Conservatory.
At his father’s request, Andrew meets a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey, Fletcher’s former student, in an ethics complaint against Shaffer Conservatory. Contrary to Fletcher’s claim that Sean had died in a car accident, the lawyer explains that Sean had committed suicide due to depression that started when he was abused and insulted in school by Fletcher. Sean’s parents want to see Fletcher dismissed and forbidden from teaching again. Andrew agrees to testify on the condition of anonymity (likely due to fear of some sort of attempted retribution by Fletcher) and Fletcher is fired.
Months later, Andrew has abandoned drumming and is working in a restaurant. He discovers Fletcher performing as a pianist in a combo at a jazz club. After the performance, Fletcher invites Andrew for a drink. He explains that he pushed his students so that they might become the next Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker. Andrew accepts Fletcher’s invitation to drum with his band at the JVC Jazz Festival. He invites Nicole to the performance, but she has a new relationship.
On stage, just before the performance begins, Fletcher reveals that he knows Andrew testified against him, and starts the concert with a piece Andrew does not know. Andrew leaves the stage humiliated, but he returns, begins playing “Caravan”, and cues the band. As the piece ends and the lights go down, Andrew continues his solo. Fletcher is taken aback, but begins to guide Andrew. As the solo ends, they share a smile and Fletcher cues the finale.
Production:
While attending Princeton High School, writer-director Damien Chazelle was in a “very competitive” jazz band and drew on the dread he felt in those years. He based the conductor, Terence Fletcher, on his former band instructor (who died in 2003) but “pushed it further”, adding elements of Buddy Rich and other band leaders known for their harsh treatment. Chazelle said he wrote the film “initially in frustration” while trying to get his musical La La Land off the ground.
Right of Way Films and Blumhouse Productions helped Chazelle turn 15 pages of his original screenplay into a short film starring Johnny Simmons as Neiman and J. K. Simmons (no relation) as Fletcher.
The 18-minute short film received acclaim after debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, winning the short film Jury Award for fiction, which attracted investors to produce the complete version of the script. The feature-length film was financed for $3.3 million by Bold Films.
In August 2013, Miles Teller signed on to star in the role originated by Johnny Simmons; J. K. Simmons remained attached to his original role. Principal photography began the following month, with filming taking place throughout Los Angeles, including the Hotel Barclay, Palace Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre.
Early on, Chazelle gave J. K. Simmons direction that “I want you to take it past what you think the normal limit would be,” telling him: “I don’t want to see a human being on-screen any more. I want to see a monster, a gargoyle, an animal.” Many of the band members were real musicians or music students, and Chazelle tried to capture their expressions of fear and anxiety when they were pressed by Simmons. Chazelle said that between takes, Simmons was “as sweet as can be,” which he credits for keeping “the shoot from being nightmarish”.
The film was shot in 19 days, with a schedule of 14 hours of filming per day. Chazelle was involved in a serious car accident in the third week of shooting and was hospitalized with possible concussion, but he returned to filming the next day to finish the film on time. The film was shot mostly in Los Angeles, with a few exterior shots filmed in New York City to create the setting.
Music:
The soundtrack album was released on October 7, 2014, via Varèse Sarabande label. The soundtrack consists of 24 tracks divided in three different parts: original jazz pieces written for the film, original underscore parts written for the film, and classic jazz standards written by Stan Getz, Duke Ellington, and other musicians.
Box Office:
Whiplash grossed $13.1 million in the U.S. and Canada and $35.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $49 million against a budget of $3.3 million.
In North America, the film opened in a limited release on October 10, 2014, in six theaters, grossing $135,388 ($22,565 per theater) and finishing 34th at the box office.
Personal Opinion:
My reaction to this movie was fenomenal. A little surprised at the ending, beacuse I thought it would go on further to detailed conversation with Neiman and Fletcher. But as I saw at the ending when the camera showed Fletcher’s eyes, I could totally see that he was smiling and he was proud. That’s when I realised that we can do so much great things but we do not use the opportunities and we do not push ourselves enough to succeed. After watching the movie I have got an inspiration to be great and to push myself beyond my limitations. Congratulations to this extraordinary movie!
ThatMovieGuy 