A spark is always needed for people to fire up in life to make them realize that they can do something immensely remarkable and exceptional beyond their wildest imagination which they had falsely thought previously that it cannot be done by themselves. Sometimes, the spark can also be to rediscover their lost love like in my case where I got the much needed knock on my head when I had unintentionally, inadvertently and mistakenly abandoned my penchant for writing for quite some time. The spark can be roused either by external or internal factors. As long as its internal, everything is really good. But, when it comes from an external agent and under a completely humiliating and embarrassing situation, it is bound to not only to fire you up to perform to your potential but also make you soar and lose yourself in the process so that your performance is overwhelmingly and enchantingly effortless.
This is precisely the basic premise of Whiplash - To unearth that burning fire which is buried in the very depths of yourself so that greatness is realized and achieved with tears, toils and hard labours by grinding oneself to the hilt thus involving a lot of practice and exertion to accomplish a pure sense of bliss by performing that very act itself. It's like you become that work itself forgetting yourself in the process. Terrence Fletcher wanted only the best in his band and he wanted his best to be not just the best but also the best of the bests. He is frighteningly intimidates, scathingly insults and throws sexual innuendos at his students thereby scaring the living daylights out of them. The best example will be the scene where he feels that his band is out of tune and initially asks politely as to who is it that is on the prowl to sabotage his band. When the highly nervous and tensed Elmer confesses out of fear that it was he who was responsible for being not in sync, Fletcher furiously asks him to get out of the room. As soon as the door is shut, he smiles and says coolly that it was Erickson who was out of tune but the very fact that Elmer didn't know that he was not playing in time was more than enough for him to see his back out of his band. The level of perfection that Fletcher demanded was simply unbelievable. He is also right . Greatness cannot be achieved by ordinary mortals who merely work for the sake of working. It has to be earned through your complete dedication and commitment and most importantly, you have the conviction to see through your time and effort to fine tune and perfect your art.
He was simply ruthless when his team comes to the rehearsals a second late. Such was the high expectation that he had set for his students that most of them failed to reach even half way to the bar. Here, he is inculcating a sense of discipline that is very much needed for any person to achieve success leaving aside the greatness factor. Discipline is one of the key cornerstones that is needed for a person to do something extraordinary. The way Fletcher terrorizes his drummers to play "Caravan" for hours when he asks his class to wait out outside is the ideal example that some times it is only the stick and not soft words that can impel a person to give a stirring performance. Not that Fletcher uses any soft words to his students in the film, but it is his tremendous toughness that had made him a cynosure in the eyes of every student to aspire to be in his troop.
The climax was out of the world. Fletcher tells a smiling Andrew that he knew it was because of him that he got fired from Shaffer and the instant shock and what-Fletcher-gonna do reaction was very realistic. Andrew had actually prepared himself to play "Whiplash". The moment Fletcher drops in the Hiroshima bomb that they would be performing "Upswinging" and gives Andrew the sadistic smile of getting him destroyed as a drummer in front of the audience was too good to believe that it was just a movie. After a few, dull, faint and muted claps, Fletcher comes to Andrew and tells him that he is not good enough to be drummer thus rubbing the salt in his already wounded humiliation was the icing on the cake and the perfect recipe for something great to happen. It did happen.
Andrew was so disappointed and defeated that when his father had come running to embrace his son, he knew that Fletcher had not only insulted him but also his one thing that he loved so cherished which made him to break up even with his girlfriend. Picking up the remaining pieces of himself in that instant, with a steely resolve, Andrew returns to the stage much to the surprise of Fletcher. He immediately starts to drum with a high degree of confidence "Caravan" for which he was literally blasted during the trials and chucked out of the band rather unceremoniously midway during the troop's concert before the spectators. Andrew had the nerve and temerity to mouth 'Fuck you' to Fletcher when the latter was glowering menacingly and giving a surly murderous stare at him. It was one of the finest moments in the movie though the best was in the horizon. Fletcher was of the opinion that Andrew wanted to incapacitate and wreck his crew totally without knowing that his statement had roused the musical monster in Andrew to deliver what he was truly made and capable of performance. Fletcher had directed his immense anger at Andrew without realizing that Andrew was one of those who truly cared for the sacred art. As time progressed, Fletcher understood that Andrew was a special person which was very evident from the way he gave a smile when Andrew was playing his heart out the most difficult piece of the concert with immense concentration and to the perfection which he always expects. All hell breaks lose even after he had reached out to his right hand and tight fisted it thus signalling the end of that particular piece. However, Andrew was so immersed with his drums that he continued to play to his heart's content.
Andrew drew the inspiration from his intense and vehement anger at Fletcher but converted into pure positive music thus becoming the music itself. Every strike was loud, powerful and lightning fast which was what Fletcher had wanted his drummers to be during the rehearsal for "Caravan". Though Andrew had earned that part then, he showed signs of tremendously exerting energy while playing the drums. But, here. It was the exact opposite. It was naturally coming out of him which was precisely Fletcher's definition of music and his level of expectation. Once, he even comes to adjust the drum plates so that Andrew doesn't falter in his rhythm. Fletcher knew then he had found his true student who had not only matched up to his demands but rose up to the occasion by drumming up beyond his savage imaginations. When Andrew was decrementally slowing down his tempo to the point that he was about to stop beating with his sticks and then instantly began to raise the tempo in an incremental manner again, Fletcher's sadistic pleasure over Andrew had evaporated into acknowledging the artist and the talent that resided in Neiman. The last scene was a picture perfect finish - Andrew's eyes interlocks with Fletcher for a fleeting moment and the tiny nod which he returns with a smile to his student was all that Andrew had hoped, worked and endured with him for his talent to be acknowledged by the best in the business. A moral victory for Andrew who then drummed his way to happiness afterwards.
Epilogue:
Sometimes, people like Fletcher needs to be present in the right place at the right time for the right person to unlock the latent power which dormantly hibernates within an individual without his knowing that they are destined for greatness, when rightly locked out, till eternity.
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