Whiplash (2014 film)

Andrew Neiman is a first-year student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. He has been playing drums from a young age and aspires to become a world-class drummer like Buddy Rich. Terence Fletcher, conductor and bandleader of Shaffer Conservatory Studio Band, invites him into the ensemble as alternate for core drummer Carl Tanner. However, Andrew quickly discovers that Fletcher is relentlessly strict, ruthless and abusive to 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 multiple times and berates him in front of the ensemble.

In a jazz competition, after their first set, Andrew misplaces Tanner's sheet music. When called for their second set, Tanner cannot play without his sheets, but Andrew claims he can perform "Whiplash" from memory. After a successful performance, Fletcher promotes Andrew to core drummer for the Studio Band, but he also recruits Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from a lower-level ensemble within the conservatory. Andrew believes Connolly is a less talented drummer than he and is infuriated when Fletcher promotes Connolly to core. Determined to impress Fletcher, Andrew breaks up with his girlfriend, Nicole, to focus on his musical ambitions, and practices until his hands bleed. After a five-hour session with Tanner and Connolly for the core spot, in which Fletcher hurls chairs and screams at them, Andrew finally earns back the core spot.

On the way to their next competition, the bus Andrew is riding breaks down. He rents a car but arrives late and realizes he left his drumsticks at the rental office. After convincing an impatient Fletcher to wait for him, Andrew races back and retrieves them, but his car is hit by a truck on the way back. He crawls from the wreckage and runs back to the theater, arriving just as the ensemble enters stage. Bloody and injured, Andrew struggles to play "Caravan," in which Fletcher halts the performance and dismisses Andrew, who then attacks him on stage, resulting in his expulsion from Shaffer.

At his father's request, Andrew meets a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey, a former student of Fletcher, in an ethics complaint against Shaffer. Contrary to Fletcher's prior claim that Sean died in a car accident, the lawyer explains that Sean hanged himself out of depression and anxiety spurred on by Fletcher's abuse. Sean's parents want to see Fletcher forbidden from teaching again; Andrew agrees to testify as an anonymous witness, and Fletcher is fired.

Following his expulsion, Andrew has abandoned drumming and is working in a restaurant. He later discovers Fletcher performing as a pianist at a jazz club. Fletcher spots Andrew and invites him for a drink. Fletcher explains his dismissal from Shaffer and admits that his teaching methods were harsh, but everything he did was only so that his students would push themselves to become their absolute best, referencing Charlie Parker's rise to fame as an example. When Andrew asks if his methods would instead discourage students, Fletcher replies that the next Charlie Parker would never be discouraged. Fletcher invites Andrew to perform with his band at the JVC Jazz Festival, as they would be playing the songs Andrew was confident in from their time at Shaffer, and Andrew accepts. Andrew invites Nicole to the performance, but she declines as she is in a new relationship.

Andrew arrives at JVC and the band goes onstage. Just before they begin their first piece, Fletcher reveals that he knows Andrew testified against him and, as revenge, leads the band with a song Andrew does not know and cannot find anywhere among his sheet music. Andrew walks off stage humiliated, but then returns to the stage and cuts off Fletcher's introduction to their next piece by playing "Caravan," cueing in the band himself. Fletcher is taken aback but resumes conducting. After Fletcher cues to the last beat of the piece, Andrew continues playing, continuing into an extended solo. After a moment of disbelief, 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 concessionist, who becomes Andrew's 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

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.[6] 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.[6] Chazelle said he wrote the film "initially in frustration" while trying to get his musical La La Land off the ground.[7]

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)[8] as Fletcher.[1] 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.[5]

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."[6]

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 19 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;[32] 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.[33]

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[lower-alpha 1] category[34] to the surprise of many, including Chazelle.[35] Although the Writers Guild of America categorized the screenplay as original, AMPAS classed it as an adaptation of the 2013 short version.[35]

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.

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