Whiplash (2014 film)

Andrew Neiman is a first-year student and jazz drummer at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City, hoping to one day fulfill his childhood goals and leave a legacy like that of his idol Buddy Rich. He is recruited by Terence Fletcher, the conductor and bandleader of the Shaffer Conservatory Studio Band, to play in Fletcher's ensemble as an alternate for core drummer Carl Tanner. Andrew quickly discovers that Fletcher is relentlessly strict and ruthless to his students when he threatens a trombonist he hears playing out of tune, causing one classmate to flee. Later that day, Fletcher physically and verbally abuses Andrew after he fails to keep the tempo during the ensemble's rehearsal of Hank Levy's "Whiplash".

Determined to impress Fletcher, Andrew practices until his hands start bleeding. In a jazz competition, after their first set, Andrew misplaces Carl's sheet music. When called for their second set, Carl insists that he can't play without his sheet music, but Andrew retorts that he can perform the second set from memory. After a successful performance, Fletcher promotes Andrew to the core drummer for the Studio Band. Fletcher also enlists Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from a lower-level ensemble within the conservatory.

As a result of his single-mindedness and Fletcher's teaching, Andrew's relationship with his family begins to deteriorate. After Fletcher promotes Connolly to core drummer, Andrew continues practicing to his limit, breaking up with his girlfriend Nicole in order to focus solely on drumming. After a grueling five-hour practice session with Tanner and Connolly in which Fletcher repeatedly lashes out at them, Andrew eventually earns back the core position.

On the way to the next competition, the bus Andrew is riding breaks down. He rents a car but arrives late and realizes he left his sticks at the rental office. Fletcher berates Andrew, and tells him that he has 10 minutes to get his sticks. Andrew races back and retrieves them but cannot focus on driving, and his car is hit by a truck on the way back. Severely injured, Andrew crawls from the wreckage and runs back to the theater, arriving just as the ensemble enters stage. He struggles to play "Caravan" due to his injuries, and Fletcher halts the performance to dismiss him. Enraged, Andrew attacks Fletcher on-stage, but is pulled away by security and expelled from Shaffer.

At his father's request, Andrew meets a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey, a former student of Fletcher, who committed suicide by hanging due to severe emotional distress caused by Fletcher's abuse. Casey's parents want Fletcher forbidden from teaching, and Andrew agrees to testify anonymously, leading Shaffer to terminate Fletcher.

Following his expulsion, Andrew abandons drumming and begins working in a restaurant. He visits a jazz club and encounters Fletcher playing piano. Fletcher claims his methods were solely intended to motivate promising students, referencing the story of how Charlie Parker rose to fame. He invites Andrew to perform with his band at the JVC Jazz Festival, assuring him that the songs will be the same ones played by the Studio Band; Andrew hesitantly accepts. Andrew calls Nicole and invites her to the performance, apologizing for the way he ended their relationship. She is noncommittal, having started a new relationship.

At JVC, before the band begins their first piece, Fletcher reveals that he knows Andrew testified against him and got him fired from his position. As revenge, Fletcher leads the band with a song Andrew does not know and for which he has not been given the sheet music. After attempting to perform, Andrew walks off stage humiliated but returns and cuts off Fletcher's introduction to the next piece by playing "Caravan", cueing in the band himself. Initially angered, Fletcher resumes conducting. Andrew plays his part perfectly, and Fletcher begins enjoying the piece as it goes on. As the piece finishes, Andrew continues playing into an extended solo. Fletcher nods in approval of Andrew's performance before cueing the band finale.

• Miles Teller as Andrew Neiman, an ambitious young jazz drummer at Shaffer
• J. K. Simmons as Terence Fletcher, a ruthless jazz instructor at Shaffer
• Paul Reiser as Jim Neiman, Andrew's father, a high school teacher
• Melissa Benoist as Nicole, a movie theater employee who is Andrew's girlfriend and later ex-girlfriend
• Austin Stowell as Ryan Connolly, another drummer in Fletcher's band
• Nate Lang as Carl Tanner, another drummer in Fletcher's band
• Chris Mulkey as Uncle Frank, Andrew's uncle
• Damon Gupton as Mr. Kramer
• Suanne Spoke as Aunt Emma, Andrew's aunt
• Jayson Blair as Travis, Andrew's cousin
• Charlie Ian as Dustin, Andrew's cousin
• Henry G. Sanders as Red Henderson
• C.J. Vana as Metz, a trombonist who gets dismissed by Fletcher mid-rehearsal
• Adrian Rashad Driscoll as Reed, a trombonist

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.[5] 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.[5] Chazelle said he wrote the film "initially in frustration" while trying to get his musical La La Land off the ground.[6]

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)[7] as Fletcher.[8] The 18-minute short film received acclaim after debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, winning the short film Jury Award for fiction,[9] which attracted investors to produce the complete version of the script.[10] The feature-length film was financed for $3.3 million by Bold Films.[3]

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.[11] 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".[5]

Principal photography began in September 2013, with filming taking place throughout Los Angeles, including the Hotel Barclay, Palace Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre,[12][13] with a few exterior shots filmed in New York City to create the setting.[14] The film was shot in 17 days, with a schedule of 14 hours of filming per day.[15][14] Chazelle was involved in a serious car accident in the third week of shooting and was hospitalized with possible concussion, but he returned to set the next day to finish the film on time.[15]

The soundtrack album was released on October 7, 2014, via Varèse Sarabande label.[16] 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. The actual drummer was Bernie Dresel.[17]

On March 27, 2020, an expanded deluxe edition was released on double CD and 2-LP gatefold sleeve vinyl with new cover art, and featured original music by Justin Hurwitz, plus bonus track and remixes by Timo Garcia, Opiuo, Murray A. Lightburn and more.[18]

The film received the top audience and grand jury awards in the U.S. dramatic competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival;[37] Chazelle's short film of the same name took home the jury award in the U.S. fiction category one year prior.[9] The film also took the grand prize and the audience award for favorite film at the 40th Deauville American Film Festival.[38]

Whiplash was originally planned to compete for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, but on January 6, 2015, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that the film would instead be competing in the Adapted Screenplay category[39] to the surprise of many including Chazelle,[40] due to Chazelle's short film of the same name premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (one year prior to the theatrical film's release), despite the fact that the feature film's script was written first and the short film was made to attract investors into producing the feature-length film.[8] Although the Writers Guild of America categorized the screenplay as original, AMPAS classed it as an adaptation of the 2013 short version.[40]

At the 87th Academy Awards, J. K. Simmons received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance, Tom Cross won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing and Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing. In December 2015, the score received a Grammy nomination, and the film was nominated for the NME Award for Best Film.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Whiplash (2014 film).

• Whiplash at IMDb
• Whiplash at Rotten Tomatoes