Passion is something that we are all inherently and, sometimes, unknowingly driven by. From a young age, we are implanted with the idea that we must strive for a crystallized perception of success. Often, we find ourselves focusing entirely on our own selfish needs to the point that we isolate ourselves from others. In these difficult times, many have seen their dreams and aspirations shattered by uncontrollable forces, not the least of which is the creative industry. There is an ironic juxtaposition when a film maker manages to make something successful out of this very idea; the strive for one’s passion. No film encapsulates this desperate struggle more, in my opinion, than ‘Whiplash.’ Simple on the surface, it tells of a much deeper desire than what it presents. Many may look at this as a brazenly over-the-top interpretation of the budding musician sub-genre, but there is so much more to this that delivers its message in a perfectly subtle way. Whether you may admit to it yourself or not, you will find a relatability to the main character, as selfish as he may act. Simple as the premise may be, I still feel this is something worth talking about. This is Damien Chazelle’s ‘Whiplash.’
This tale of agonizing greed focuses on our young protagonist, Andrew (Miles Teller), an aspiring drummer that is given the opportunity to be taught under the guidance of an infamous teacher by the name of Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Andrew finds himself to the be weakest link in the chain of other budding musicians within the class but is dead set on proving his worth. Fletcher acts quite calm and collected, albeit slightly annoyed, at first but progressively becomes more aggravated at Andrew’s inability to perform to his required pace. It’s here where we learn of Fletcher’s true personality, a loose-wired perfectionist that actively abuses his students in an effort to make them all perfect. Despite this extreme behavior, Andrew persists at his efforts as he sets out to prove his teacher wrong. Meanwhile, Andrew’s personal life slowly falls apart. His already strained relationship with his parents and brother becomes more spiteful as he chastises all of them for looking down on him, he begins to ignore his girlfriend completely after he starts to view her worth as a companion to his success and his entire life becomes solely focused on proving himself. Andrew pours his literal blood, sweat and tears into his performance, stumbling along the way. Not even something as major as a car crash is going to stop him from proving his worth.
Andrew is far from the conventional protagonist, but he is oddly compelling. Andrew is not presented as the ideal hero, but is instead presented as an example of what the pressures of society can do to a young person. As I mentioned before, we can all relate to that struggle of trying to live up to this cliched expectation that the people around have of us. The music, let alone the drumming itself, is not the real focus, merely a tool to punctuate the problem. By using one of the most competitive career roles, the writers are able to tap into the severity of one’s desire to stand out amongst the crowd. Andrew certainly has a passion for drumming, but his end goal appears to be this desire to outshine his family. Andrew’s progressive anti-social behavior is slightly exaggerated, but it’s common for dream-chasers to isolate themselves from those who care about them all for the sake of gaining notoriety. The whole film is just Andrew’s way of feeling like he has worth on this planet, especially due to living in the shadow of his older brother.
J.K. Simmons will rarely ever deliver a mediocre performance. Even in his most questionable roles, he always brings his A-game. This film is far from the exception. Simmons elevates this movie into a higher plane, being intense and shockingly frightening, Simmons is the powerful villain in Andrew’s story. As horrible as the acts that Fletcher performs can come across, you understand that he does care about his students, not necessarily making himself look good but turning these teens into brilliant musicians. While Fletcher clashes with Andrew throughout the film, there is a clear amount of respect between the two entities. Fletcher becomes more and more unhinged as the movie progresses, which makes for an entertaining experience, but also strikes a strange sense of fear that is synonymous with the main character. Each challenge that Fletcher presents is more intense than the last. You become as oddly fixated on said challenge as Andrew, and there in lies the point. Despite Andrew’s antagonistic behavior, we want him to succeed just as much as Fletcher does. Life presents us with day to day challenges that we force ourselves to face head-on, and the movie does such a brilliant job of making Fletcher feel like a powerful hurdle to overcome that it becomes so utterly immersive.
While I insisted that the film is not so much about the drumming as it is the passion-hunting, that doesn’t mean that the musical aspect of the film isn’t enticing. Almost the entire movie is dedicated to the drumming. Even when there is no literal drumming in the scene, the soundtrack has a heavy enthesis on the instrument. The dynamic cinematography squarely focuses on the back and forth between shots of the drum vibrating to the hits of the sticks to the expressions on Andrew’s face. The intense imagery of the blood and sweat that falls atop the drum-set is used to show the intense lengths that one will go through to gain their desires. The film excellently isolates the experience by amplifying the sound effects and focusing its shots on the expression-filled faces, it’s incredibly cathartic. All of this pays off in the incredibly satisfying ending, feeling like we have gone through the same progression that Andrew has. The movie perfectly encapsulates the feeling of setting yourself apart from everyone else and finding some form of notoriety. The intensity is like passion personified.
I’m of two minds when recommending this film. On one hand, it can be incredibly fun and entertaining for those who don’t wish to be overly-analytical, on the other, I feel like the film is at its best when one does look for the hidden context. The performances and music alone can sell the film, but it’s not exactly the type of movie that anyone can easily jump into. I couldn’t really think of anything abundantly bad about the movie, aside from the family conflict not really having its resolution, that may be the point though. I heavily consider this to be one of my favorite movies of all time, but there is something that is stopping me from placing it at the top of my list. Regardless, any complaints I may have are minuscule in comparison to everything else that I truly love about it. It’s relatable, intense and cathartic, mixed with wonderful cinematography and music that ends up making it a truly inspiring movie. If I have to compare this one to Chazelle’s more well known movie, ‘La La Land’, I feel this film far exceeds that of the overrated, Hollywood-praised, disingenuous musical. ‘Whiplash’ is far above anything else of its kind, and deserves far more attention as one of the greatest and most ambitious films of all time. Check it out.
Side note: An entire film of J.K. Simmons just yelling at people would be an easy 10/10 for me.
Written review by C. Johnson.