Whiplash (Chazelle, 2014) 10th Anniversary

10 Years of Whiplash 

Reviewing Damien Chazelle’s tale of artistic ambition upon its anniversary re-release.

Written by Andie Kaiser

Marking ten years since its original release in 2014, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash has returned to the big screen with a 4K remaster. Earning five academy award nominations, the film is a celebrated story about how far young jazz drummer, Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), is willing to go in order to satisfy his abusive music instructor (J.K. Simmons). 

In his role as Andrew Neiman, Teller expertly embodies the ambition of a young student thrust into the cutthroat landscape of a New York City music conservatory. Recruited by conductor Terence Fletcher (Simmons), Andrew is given a spot in the conservatory’s studio band, becoming the youngest core player in the group. Though at first elated to have been selected for the prestigious jazz band, Andrew soon realizes just how hard Fletcher pushes his students. As Andrew begins to experience verbal, physical, and emotional abuse at the hands of his conductor, Whiplash reveals itself to be a story about the dangerous methods people will turn to in the name of developing “art” or “talent”.

Unsurprisingly, the music is the standout element of the film. The fast-paced drumming sequences act like the film’s heartbeat, underscoring the intensity of each moment that Andrew spends practicing or performing in the band. The cinematography and editing of these sequences, however, are equally measured; quick close-ups of a musician’s sweat or the thrust of Fletcher’s fist make these high-octane scenes seem like they’ve been plucked from a sports game.

Technical achievements aside, the most interesting conversation the film opens up is about our own willingness to sacrifice wellbeing in the pursuit of success. Fletcher embodies the “art at all costs” ideology, believing that the only way to find the next jazz prodigy is to push his students to—or beyond—their mental and physical limits. This is an interesting idea to examine in the context of the film’s ten-year anniversary, at a time in which politics and pop culture are tackling the real-world effects of toxic masculinity, incel culture, and the argument that people nowadays are “too soft.” While Whiplash certainly doesn’t seem to endorse these values, it also doesn’t present a wholly optimistic perspective. The film left me feeling drained (in part from the prolonged stress I felt) but also from what it suggested: that in the end, there might not be any way to escape our worst impulses, and that people like Fletcher will always be there to smile at what we’ve become.