Whiplash Plot Summary
Whiplash is a well written and engrossing music drama, using the framework of a sports film to make for an exciting and tense watch throughout.
Directed by Damien Chazelle, Whiplash centers on aspiring drummer Andrew Neiman. He’s a talented and ambitious jazz drummer with dreams to make it into the bigtime. He’s prepared to risk it all, but in order to get there, he’s tested to his absolute limits by his maniacal and abusive teacher, Terence Fletcher.
What happens after Andrew quits Shaffer?
Andrew’s journey is not for the fainthearted. After being mentally and physically abused by Fletcher, Neiman drops out of the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory and tries to pick up the pieces of his life. His ex girlfriend, whom he broke up with earlier in the movie, has already moved on.
Andrew has no friends, and his family never believed he was cut out to make it as a superstar so they don’t really understand him at his level. As a last act to save others at Shaffer, Andrew testifies against Terence Fletcher, getting the guy fired from his role and making sure he doesn’t hurt anyone with his abusive methods ever again.
What convinces Andrew to play for Fletcher again?
As the film reaches its pivotal final act, Neiman runs into Fletcher again, who happens to be performing at a jazz club. The pair sit and drink together, where Fletcher reveals that there are no two words more damaging than “good job”. He explains that his role as a teacher was always to push his students to their absolute limits, breaking through the pain barrier to the other side, which holds the key to greatness.
Fletcher’s dream had always been to find his own “Charlie Parker”, a talented Jazz musician whom we learn about across the film. More on him later! Anyway, Fletcher did everything in his power to achieve that dream but he was never successful in that endeavour. His words move Neiman, who starts to come around to his way of thinking.
Fletcher knows this too and invites Andrew to come and perform at a prestigious jazz event he’s running. He casually remarks that it’s no big deal and they’re jamming out, playing some of his “old favourites”.
This is the first red flag, and as Andrew excitedly gets dressed up and makes his way up onto stage, all the most influential men and women in the world of Jazz are here. They could open doors for him and help catapult Neiman into the big time. Similarly, one slip up could see him relegated to the annals of infamy forever.
What happens during the final performance?
Just before the first song, Fletcher sneers at Andrew and confirms his betrayal, telling Andrew that he knows he was the one who ratted him out and got him fired from Shaffer. He’s intent on getting his revenge, and shows off a completely different music sheet to everyone else. Andrew does his best with what he has but Andrew’s rhythm completely disrupts the band and it’s a complete disaster.
Andrew rushes off stage and his father is there to console him. At the last second though, Andrew changes his mind and decides to grab this opportunity before it’s lost forever.
Andrew returns to the stage, interrupts Fletcher and begins playing Caravan, a song that highlights the drummer as the key component of the song. He orchestrates the band himself and through a breathless 8 minute rendition, slowly turns Fletcher around.
Andrew’s incredible performance stuns the audience and wins over Fletcher too, who begins to support him and his solo. Fletcher even picks up a cymbal that falls on the floor, nodding in anticipation as he seems to have found the student who’s about to make it into the big-time.
Just before the final drum solo, there’s a period of silence where Fletcher and Andrew both lock eyes. The camera zooms in as a period of recognition washes over them. This is it. This is the moment.
Andrew and Fletcher both smile as Andrew wins over Fletcher and manages to prove himself the superstar he always was. But as a moment with his father watching on, wide-eyed and shocked, attests, at what cost has Andrew achieved this?
What does the scene with Andrew’s father mean?
The ending to Whiplash is ambiguously open and can be interpreted in one of two ways. The first scene to examine is that of Andrew’s father. His look could be interpreted as one of horror, as he sees how far his son is willing to go to prove himself to an abusive teacher who has proven himself to be a master manipulator and completely unorthodox.
This small snippet shows the destructive consequences of pushing oneself too far, and that’s echoed by Andrew’s desire to continue playing the drums even after being in a car accident earlier in the movie.
It’s also pretty tragic as it shows how dysfunctional Andrew’s mind has become. He’s still trying to impress Fletcher after all this time, despite what he’s been through. Andrew’s father conveys both awe and shocked horror, echoing the earlier sentiment of his son elevating to greatness. He finally sees his son’s talent, after initially writing off his drum playing as a hobby and never believing it was really a career option.
The parallels with Charlie Parker
Whiplash cleverly foreshadows some of what’s to pass after the film has finished. Yes, Andrew manages to perform Caravan spectacularly and shows everyone that he is spectacularly talented. However, it’s ultimately a victory for Fletcher, who now gets the glory of creating his own Charlie Parker.
For those who are unaware, Charlie Parker ended up with mental health problems, was addicted to drugs and at the time of death – a lowly age of 34 – his body had almost aged to double that number.
This story of living high and fast can be echoed with Andrew’s journey, as he’s willing to give it all up for his music. Andrew is willing to put himself through literal hell to get there, and in doing so he’s almost certainly going to have mental health problems, as evidenced by his rage earlier on, punching through his drum set.
Although his family could support him, Andrew has always felt a disconnect with his parents, with every conversation about the music loomed at with disdain and contempt rather than genuine interest. They’ll never be on his level nor understand his struggles, despite the ending with his father, so it’s quite likely that Andrew Neiman would go on to become a loner.
Even more damning than that, one could argue that Parker isn’t even the greatest musician of the 20th century, so it once more throws into question those dreams of greatness and how fleeting they really are.
Is the ending of Whiplash a triumph or tragedy?
This is the great question and one that’s going to be open to interpretation. The ending is actually both. On the one hand, Andrew has proven all the naysayers wrong. He’s come through the other side and managed to deliver a show-stopping performance for some of the most influential men and women in the business. Doors will be opened and he’ll likely see success.
However, the scars of Andrew’s abusive situation are still there. Is that worth making it to the big time? If your answer to achieving your dreams is to do whatever it takes, Chazelle uses that and weaponizes it against viewers, weaving a cautionary tale about that thin line between genius and madness, allowing his story to play out as both a tragedy and a triumph, making Whiplash’s ending hit all the harder.
Read More: Whiplash Movie Review