Andrew Neimann (Miles Teller) is playing drums since he is a child. His talent and passion for jazz have brought him to the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory music school. In this music conservatory , Andrew meets the demanding instructor, Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who accepts to give him a chance to join his band class. But, Neimann quickly realises that to be a permanent member of this band he will have to painfully go beyond his limits.
Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle, is an aesthetically superb film questioning viewers about the amount of efforts they are ready to provide in order to achieve success. As for Fletcher, played by a phenomenal J.K. Simmons, success necessitates a great and deep commitment to work. He does not hesitate to tyrannise his students to make them progress. He is extremely tough to get the best results ever, go beyond mediocrity and reach excellence. However, his methods tend to be abusive, especially on the psychological level. Andrew is seen as progressing and improving but his passion for drums increasingly disappears to leave room for strict performance, stress and suffering. By displaying the complexity of this issue, Whiplash seems to indicate that even if being tough and demanding is beneficial, such attitude should be moderate to avoid harming others and ourselves.
Not only are Fletcher and his methods criticised, the main character, Andrew, is also shown as a complex person in Whiplash. Pathologically ambitious and competitive he constantly feels the need to dominate others and act as if he was superior to everybody else. Andrew is portrayed as an arrogant young man, in lack of actual recognition, who enjoys reminding people he belongs to an exclusive social elite. Fletcher and Andrew are actually very similar. They are both obsessively driven by music and they both seek a prestigious status in the musical field. This film is far from presenting a black and white division between the instructor and the student. Instead of being depicted as a healthy man, Andrew appears to have an worryingly extreme personality. This characteristic gives sense to the last scene. Only someone as obsessed and ambitious as Andrew was capable of going back on stage after Fletcher royally humiliated him.
In brief, Whiplash is an astonishing film which reveals the damaging and harmful aspects of what any ambitious person dreams of: success.
Not just a film 