(Muhammad Zunair)
Oh, dear! My veins are already pumped up — adrenaline going exponentially high — and my hands are crumbling with excitement as I am getting ready to pen down my thoughts on my favorite Hollywood movie ever: Whiplash.
I’m not joking, not at all!
Whiplash is not just another Hollywood banger, it’s an exquisite experience — a drama encompassing emotions, dreams, and everything in between.
A musical masterpiece — written and directed by none other than the magician himself: Damien Chazelle.
However, it was the mind-bending performances from J.K. Simmons (Terence Fletcher) and Miles Teller (Andrew Neiman) that took the movie to another level — helping it to win praise from all the corners of the world and three Academy Awards.
The first time I saw the movie, I could not comprehend the underlying meaning. Either I was too naive or had wrong expectations from it.
Fortunately, as I watched it for the second time, everything started to make sense. It was layered in such a beautiful way that it addressed one of the biggest psychological and mental aspects of human existence without even going into the technicalities.
On the surface, Whiplash is a musical drama, traversing the journey of a young, passionate drummer (Andrew Neiman) who goes to the most famous music conservatory in the country to pursue his passion. The conservatory is famous because of its renowned teacher, Terence Fletcher. His methods are intense, unconventional, and at times, quite annoying and demoralizing.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
As one starts digging it up, one gets to realize that the movie tries to solve one of the greatest puzzles: The dichotomy of greatness and madness.
Pushed by his mentor, Andrew Neiman in his pursuit of greatness ends up becoming mad. He sacrifices his relations, his principles, and his mind in the hope to become what he had always dreamt of.
His desire to win the trust of his mentor, to beat his competition, and his never-ending urge to replicate the greatness of his idols make him go astray — unlocking toxic and antisocial behaviors in his personality.
His pursuit of greatness makes him lose his sanity and connection with the world around him. He is willing to achieve excellence at any cost — making him the prisoner of his own obsession.
It was actually Fletcher who inculcates in Neiman this feeling that he is not good enough. He needs to go further in order to best his craft and Neiman ends up going to such extreme lengths that he almost loses his mortal existence — leading him to drop out.
Even after dropping out of the conservatory, his desire for greatness still lingers on. And that’s where one gets to understand all that obsession was a by-product of engaging himself in a laborious and never-ending pursuit of greatness.
However, the constant frustration and disappointment make him impatient — causing him to lose track of his path.
When Fletcher explains to him, later in the movie, that he was there to push people beyond what was expected of them, the truth revealed itself to Neiman and the audience that Fletcher’s method wasn’t wrong, it was just idiosyncratic.
His ruthless and demanding behavior was a ploy to get the best out of Neiman and others. He wasn’t there to push Neiman into the quagmire of madness and apathy, rather he knew that Neiman could do better.
However, Neiman’s obsession and impatience misled his instincts — making him think of greatness and madness as two sides of the same coin.
Whereas in reality, they aren’t.
There is a very thin buffer between the two. Madness, at times, feels like a legit tool to achieve greatness. But, at times, it can cause humans to lose their rationality — stripping them of their ability to reason.
However, if being channelized properly — with patience and perseverance — it surely can lead us to greatness. Neiman realizes it. A bit late but he realizes it.
Consequently, in the final sequence of the movie, Neiman produces the best drumming sequence he has ever played and Fletcher smiles at him — knowing that he has finally gone beyond what is expected of him.
Whiplash will go down as one of the greatest movies of all time and rightfully so! So, if you haven’t watched the movie, tonight is the right time to do so.
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