Whiplash!

Hey! So... This time, I am going to write about a movie called Whiplash. It was my first time to see the film, but it's a famous movie, so you may have already seen it before. The film was recommended by my boyfriend, and we watched it together.

As always, I am talking about its story and plot, so if you have never seen the film, and do not want to hear about how the story goes, you should probably go... (Sorry!) But if you are thinking about watching the film for the first time, this is what I will say to you: the movie is awesome; it is very intense, and you'll never forget about this movie. It's about art and madness. Yes, madness... So, if you are feeling like watching a fun, light, and heartwarming film tonight, this isn't the one you would want to turn to. Because this one is VERY intense.

The movie was released in 2014, and was directed by Damien Chazelle who is also a director of La La Land! I have not watched La La Land, but so far, I have only heard of good comments about the movie, so I am excited to watch it hopefully soon! And the film Whiplash has won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, among many other awards, which means that it is a highly recognized movie.

Oh, one thing before I start writing the plot: the film is called "Session" in Japan, so if are a reader from Japan, and thinking of looking for this film in your local DVD rental shop, or in Netflix (That's where we watched the movie!), you may have to look for Session instead of Whiplash.

Ok, so from here, I will write the plot of the movie Whiplash. Andrew Neiman is a freshman in Shaffer Conservatory, which is a renowned school. Although he is not from a family of musicians, he has been playing drums from a young age, and has always loved it. One night, when he was practicing drums alone, he was discovered by Fletcher, an instructor at Shaffer, and also a famous conductor. And eventually, Fletcher invites Andrew to play in his studio band.

Andrew is an aspiring drum player, and he was so happy to get the chance. But Fletcher is a very, VERY abusive instructor. He does not hesitate to yell at his players, insult them, and even employ violence. And from that time, it starts to affect Andrew's mentality. He practices until he bleeds, but he shows up to the band's practice only to be yelled at and insulted by his instructor because he failed to give the rhythm Fletcher wanted. One time Fletcher slapped him in his cheek (several times!), and another time, he even threw a chair at Andrew, though it did't hit him.

Andrew has become so obsessed with being a great drummer, and also so competitive against other drummers in the band, that he even went out to play right after he had an car accident. He was bleeding from his head, and his hand didn't move properly. Obviously, he struggled to play the drums, and instead of giving him kind words, Fletcher went to him, and say, "You're done."  And that's when Andrew attacked Fletcher on stage, in front of the audience because he was so outrageous. After that, Andrew was dismissed from Shaffer.

Andrew and his dad went to meet with a lawyer who represents Sean Casey, a former student of Fletcher. At first, Andrew did not want to talk about Fletcher, and his way of instructing. But the lawyer tells that Sean killed himself suffering from anxiety and depression, which is different from what Fletcher said about Sean's death; he said Sean died due to a car accident. The lawyer continues, and says that Sean's parents never want that to happen again to other students. And this leads Andrew to make his mind to talk about what he had gone through.

Time passed, and now Andrew is working in a restaurant while he prepares to apply for a different collage. But one day, he went into a jazz club, and finds Fletcher performing. Fletcher noticed Andrew too, and Andrew tried to walk away, but Fletcher talked to him. The two sits at a table, and talks. Fletcher tells Andrew that he has left Shaffer. And Andrew soon found out that Fletcher left Shaffer not because he decided to do so, but because he had to. Fletcher tells Andrew with a softer tone unlike before, that he pushes his students so hard because he expects one day, some of them may achieve success like jazz legends, such as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker, and to achieve that goal, he continues to work hard, and does what he believes in. Then he ask Andrew to come in his band to play drums in a jazz festival, which he accepted.

Andrew shows up at the performance. But right before the band's performance starts, Fletcher comes to Andrew, and tells him that he knows Andrew is the one who told Shaffer about him, which became the reason he had to leave the school. Then, he tells his band they are going to open the performance with a piece, one that Andrew was never informed of. But what can he do? The performance starts. Andrew improvises, but he couldn't follow the band. Feeling devastated, he leaves the stage. His dad hugs him tightly, and say that they will go home. But to our surprise, Andrew goes back to stage. He starts to play a piece that he knows (Caravan). Of course, Fletcher was surprised, and comes to Andrew saying, "What the hell?" But Andrew doesn't stop playing, and even cues the band to follow his lead. The piece ends, and other band members stops playing, but Andrew keeps playing his solo. Although confused at first, Fletcher started to guide him. As Fletcher cues the finale, and their performance ends, they both share a smile.

The last scene was so unexpected. I thought Andrew would go home with his dad. And if I were him, I'd do so. He's abused, and bullied so much. The scenes where Fletcher instructs his studio band in Shaffer really breaks your heart. I almost cried! It wasn't about me, but seeing people yelled at with all those nasty words made me very sad.

Is it ok to abuse a person in the name of art? That's the theme of the movie. According to Fletcher, he sticks with his way of instructing not because he just wants to be mean, but for art. He wants to push his students beyond the expectations, and beyond the limits, hoping that someday, some of them reach something beyond those things. And this time, Andrew could achieve that. But not everyone can be the same as him, which is no surprise. As you would know from the film, Sean Casey committed a suicide. Fletcher even killed his own student in a way.

But one thing to remember is that Fletcher is a human too. Sometimes it's hard for him too; he pushes himself too. He's not a robot that never feels. He couldn't stop himself from crying when he announced Sean's death in front of his band even though he didn't tell the truth about how he passed away. But to peruse the abusolate perfection, he never stops being the instructor he is.

This film is so intense. It will make you mad and sad. You can observe Andrew from being a young man who loves playing drums to a suffering artist. And in the end, you can see him breaking through. It is a happy ending, but it leaves you not being as happy as you would in ordinary happy ending stories. But it also makes you appreciate art more. Every artist has their own hard roads to success. You wouldn't see it unless you're close to them. So in this way, art is born from struggles. And therefore, struggles are beautiful in a way.

Whiplash is a movie you'll never forget. If you want to see something very serious, you should watch this. Well, even if you're not feeling something serious, you should watch this film sometime at least once if not tonight!