Whiplash

An incredible film that warns us about the dangers of chasing so-called "greatness" and pushing others to breaking point so that they may achieve it. First off, the acting from J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller in this is unbelievable—the dynamic between them is one of, if not the best I've ever seen in a film. From the first scene onwards, every time Simmons came on screen there was an almost palpable tension, and the character development of Neiman is played by Teller amazingly. Andrew starts off as a normal student in a conservatory with a deep infatuation for music, but ends up as someone so unrecognisable that even his own father's expression is a mix of pride and fear at the end of the film. Neiman's arrogance after he became the core drummer for the Studio Band was marked enough to make him hate-able—but it was Fletcher who drew it out of him, simply discarding the previous core for misplacing the music folder. Neiman begins to become like Fletcher—the kid who was once a soft-spoken musician that struggled to make eye contact turned into a mirror of the man who moulded him, throwing out abusive language whenever he was so much as slightly annoyed. Despite this, we can see the source of his frustration during the dinner table scene—he believes that he deserves more credit (even at the pizza place with Nicole, he seems slightly scornful that she is unsure about her future whilst he is in the best music school in the country). Some people will definitely be able to relate to the feeling of being overshadowed by others, and although him mocking the other's "lesser" (in his eyes) achievements was uncalled for, it's something we see very often—people putting others down to build themselves up. His arrogance builds and builds, and his choice to abandon Nicole in pursuit of a spot on Fletcher's band seemed to only add more fuel to the fire. The day to play 'Caravan' ends up being a turbulent one, with Neiman's obsession leading to him getting hit by a truck, and he eventually attacks Fletcher in anger. Finding out that Sean Casey committed suicide (rather than died in a car accident, which Fletcher had told the band) eventually led Andrew to speak up anonymously, and so whilst he loses his place at the conservatory, Fletcher can never bully a student again. And yet, he still finds his way back to Fletcher at a jazz bar, where Fletcher tells him “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’” — at this point we as the audience can all tell that Fletcher is a monster. He’s obsessed with the idea that a person must suffer greatly before they can become great, quoting the story of Jo Jones throwing a cymbal at Charlie Parker, and Parker then coming back a year later a genius. Fletcher literally believes that trauma breeds greatness, and uses that story as an excuse to humiliate and break students — but Andrew still bites, deciding to play for Fletcher one more time at the JVC Orchestra. He invites Nicole, but he finds out that she now has a boyfriend, and the moment she told him felt like a tipping point; he had nothing left but his music. All seems well at the performance, with Andrew expecting to play “Whiplash”, until Fletcher tells the audience that they are to play a completely different song which Andrew has never heard or practiced for, leading to his humiliation on stage. He exits briefly — and if it wasn’t for how famous the final scene is, I would have thought that would have been it — to hug his father, but he returns. Anxious to prove himself, he cuts off Fletcher’s introduction to the next song, deciding that he’ll play ‘Caravan’, and whilst Fletcher’s reaction is initially one of anger, you can see the expression in his eyes turn to respect, and with the final drum solo, satisfaction, for he has found the Charlie Parker he has so sorely been looking for. Neiman has more than proved his drumming prowess to an audience, but his father’s expression from the corridor is the most powerful for me, since he has seen the results of how brutally Fletcher treats his son, and here, we can see that it’s reached a point where he can hardly recognise his own son. absolute must-watch.