The Misleading Finale of Whiplash 

Miles Teller described the look his father gives him at the end of the movie as not one of finally understanding his son's passion but instead one of horror at witnessing the extent of his son's obsession.

I love how when Fletcher’s student dies (which we later learn was pretty much Fletcher’s fault), he does cry- not because a human being was lost… but because a musician was lost. Instead of remembering him as a person, he plays his music for the class and never talks about the guy himself. It really gives insight on how he views people

I see the hug Andrew gives to his father at the end as a goodbye hug. It’s Andrews last moment as a normal player and person. After he walks back onto the stage, he transforms into what Fletcher always wanted, knowing his life will never being the same. His dad watches him change his entire person and life and he knows his son is gone and forever tied to Fletcher.

I think the ending is rather tragic. I bounced between thinking “Oh, he’s finally getting away from Fletcher, and it looks like he’s becoming his own person again!” to “Fletcher still has his abusive… control over Neiman.” The very end is the latter, which I find really sad.

These moments of "happiness" are part of and necessary to the cycle of abuse. If they weren't there it would be much easier for people to leave these dysfunctional relationships. The abuse is seen as justified for these brief moments of relief.

One of the most noticeably absent things from the ending was any applause, or external validation at all. Any other movie of this type would end with a standing ovation - not only to underline how great the performance was but to give the movie audience that sense of payoff as well. So why is there no applause at the end? A key motif of the movie is the intense focus required to play at this level and how most people don't care about jazz at all. Removing the audience reaction from the ending highlights how narrowly these two characters are focused on excellence, even excluding their own audience. If art is a way to communicate, they have decided to only communicate with one another, cutting out everything else (Andrew's girlfriend, the door closing on his dad at the end, etc.) Even the close camera cuts of only their eyes in the final moment shows how hyper-focused they have become. Even the rest of the band no longer matters - like the Bobby Knight comparison, their goals are purely athletic and selfish and have nothing to do with the music or the audience.

This movie came out at a time in my life where I would study 14 hours a day and was experiencing success in college. My ego was so high and I truly believed I was better than other people. I went for a PHD and when other life events happened I snapped and had a mental breakdown. It took a year to recover. I survived and have a family and a home today. I’m successful on the outside but internally I still feel like a failure for something that happened 8 years ago. I always feel like I never lived up to my potential and it haunts me to this very day. To make things more complicated my best friend did achieve his dreams with a PHD in his field of computer science only for him to commit suicide a year later. This has me reflect on how that could have been me and what I perceived my mental breakdown to be a sign of weakness was me saving myself before I perished. I used to love this film and looked down on my father for saying the movie made him feel “nervous”. After my mental breakdown I have never been able to watch this film ever again when it used to give me so much motivation to push me past my limits. Thank you to anyone who has read this.

The father's point in the finale is very underrated. Paul Reiser gives a great performance. At the end he witnesses his song perform greatness. He doesnt cheer, He walks away. He knows his son is gone at this point. He is the monster that the Jazz teacher created.

I never thought it was a happy ending at all, so I'm surprised to see so many people say it was. Yes, Miles emerges "victorious" in the end, but it's pretty much at the cost of his own sanity. He's no longer a hopeful jazz student, but a withered, broken jazz machine. And that's before even diving into the implications surrounding his abusive relationship with Fletcher.

That's exactly the thing I didn't like about Whiplash's ending. It gave redemption to Fletcher, without repentance. It's just wrong. But seeing it was intentional by the director, to leave a sour happy ending, it just makes sense. It's a reflection on how we condone human abuse as long as things get done. We give more value to things than to people.

I used to have this type of relationship with one of my mentors during my time as a research assistant at a university. He was a tenured professor, so he knew he could get away with almost anything without being held accountable. I would always tell myself “I’m going to leave, I can’t put up with this abuse”, but every once in a while, he would actually say I did something good, and I was sucked right back in and gave it a second, third, fourth, etc. chance. As soon as I saw the exchange of glances during the final scene of Whiplash, I knew exactly what was being displayed. He was being sucked right back into the cycle of abuse.

the ending of whiplash was incredibly horrifying, man. i was as obsessed and called it passion. i was constantly puking out of anxiety. the ending of whiplash solidified telling me to chill.

I truly understood how abusive Fletcher's behavior was when I realised that he learned Neiman's parents' occupations, just to use that in his swears. When I first watched their chat in the hall, I thought "That is really good, Fletcher kinda trying to relief his student." Then he started mentioning his mother leaving him after birth in his swears. I was shocked. He asked about Neiman's parents, just to use it against him. I honestly think that he would really mention Neiman's parents more if they were musicians. I think that he would often make fun of that Neiman will never make his father/mother proud by playing like this. And who knows, maybe that gay insults he was making against one of those drummers were real. Maybe that guy was really homosexual and Fletcher was using that on his own benefit.

It’s incredible that fletcher is even able to abuse the audience; the ending feels triumphant when in reality it’s the furthest extent of his abuse.

I remember listening to an autobiography of Jackie Chan where he decribes the conflicting feelings he had about his teacher. He hated the guy for beating him with a bamboo rod whenever he messed up, but also acknowledged that the guys teaching, barbaric as it was, made him a master at his craft.

Whiplash is basically a story of how abusive relationships can "successfully" function and continue to do so.

My interpretation of the ending has always been that Miles Teller's character chose success and greatness over happiness. Like you said, he validated his abuser's actions. In the overarching story line, it is essentially a happy ending. But, the character may never be happy again, because he has chosen to suffer for the sake of greatness.

To me the ending starts, and this is key, when Andrew leaves the stage and hugs his father, before going back and hijacking the band from Fletcher. He's saying goodbye to his father, embracing Fletcher and his methods and, in my mind, becoming his teacher's mini me. Fletcher used Andrew's dad as an unending source of humiliation and that's what the boy tacitly accepted in that goodbye. I don't think Andrew will become a teacher and mimic Fletcher's abuse, but he'll carry his own Fletcher in his mind forever. That's what that mutual smile means. To me the movie is about, among other things, how you can survive abuse, but it always leaves you disfigured.

It's a very bittersweet ending. Yes, it feels satisfying to see Neiman prove Fletcher wrong and show the world that he's one of the greats. It's also fairly clear that it's where his life peaks and that it's all going to be downhill from there. He chose passion over happiness.

No film has made me feel more than whiplash. I had a teacher in college that was fletcher but turned down by maybe 5 degrees. Even down to the rumours of a students suicide. Because of him, because of the fear he put in me - a vision of a pathetic future - I became someone worthwhile. I’m disciplined, self sufficient, fit, professional and well off. I love who I am on paper but at the same time, I hate the person I’ve become. My capacity for emotion has been reduced to near 0 and my priorities are backwards. I’m just existing, making money and burning calories. It’s difficult for me to love people, know how to show it and keep them around. If I had the choice to take a lower paying job but be able to care about people again, I would. This is what this method of teaching does to people. Some wonder what happened to Andrew after the film ends - I know exactly what happens to him. When I see the face on andrews dad in the finale, I see the horror. I see myself witnessing the death of my own humanity. He’s become greatness but he’s also lost himself, entirely. Damien Chazelle is a master for being able to accurately portray this experience so precisely and intimately. I believe it when he says he went through this. In a way, I think the fact that he made this film is a more of a success in gaining closure for himself. They say communication helps - well whiplash communicates this experience perfectly. I can only dream of feeling catharsis like that.

When my son was very young I got the idea that he would make a good pianist. His personality somehow leaned that way: analytical and this really amazing beat in his body when nobody is watching or when very excited. As a 7 year old he met his piano instructor who soon swooned about him being one of her best. I was very happy for him because I am thinking he is a bit of a genius and here is some affirmation. He did extremely well in his first ever piano exam, going into "the hall of fame". But in the meantime I did learn about the abuse behind the scenes with the teacher's yelling and pounding his fingers on the keys one day. I just know it is so wrong for the teacher to get glory through her students, using them to attain some acknowledgement.... NO! I moved him out of the system and today he gets lessons at home at a much more relaxed pace. Music is to support our spirits and our souls not to make us mindless preforming zombie monkeys

I think the movie is asking the question : "is greatness worth it?". Some people see Neimans look of pure elation at the end of his solo and think that it is worth it. Others see his fathers look of stunned horror and think that it isn't. It doesn't have to have one interpretation.

I remember my dad and I watching this for the first time together a few years back. We interpreted the ending differently. For my dad, Andrew had finally achieved greatness in his craft and Fletcher witnessed the next great jazz drummer that would go down in history. I saw the end as Andrew slipping back into his obsession that would eventually kill him (to me, the earlier car accident was a warning.) Fletcher had him back under his abusive control and that's what the smile was about.

I love this film, and a lot of my band friends do as well. NONE OF US thought it was a happy ending.

Whiplash has always been a favourite of mine, but it's always a very intense watch, there's very rarely a dull moment. I also respect Damien Chazelle for going for more complex endings which aren't necessarily happy, but not exactly a downer either. Great video bro!

I never heard anyone mention how at 9:01 it looks like Fletcher is about to slap him, it's a very poetic montage.

i think an interesting thing to notice about the final scene is that it's done in a drum solo, complete with speedups and slowdowns, completely divorced from the other performers there. it's just neimann and fletcher, who is controlling neimann and making sure his tempo is "right" and all that. it's incredibly relieving to see, has a viscerality to it that intensifies the scene (because it's much easier to make drumming look physical than horns), and showcases what looks like neimann finally getting over fletcher by giving it that sense of intimacy. it also has absolutely nothing to do with being a good jazz drummer. drummers are timekeepers first and foremost. bang out a neil peart or karen carpenter solo all you want: if you can't keep time with your bandmates you suck as a drummer. great drummers, like ringo starr, are even able to keep an eclectic group of diverse talents who have barely any musical overlap in what they want together and keep a sense of unity throughout the band that makes their songs work when they perform them live without the need for solos. it's always going to be about that sense of unity you can provide your bandmates. there's no sense of unity with neimann and the rest of the ensemble; hell, the ensemble isn't even playing. he's following the conductor--in a jazz ensemble, where everyone--conductor included--is stuck on the drummer's time and they have to either deal with it or be the bassist and try to get things in their favor. he was pushed to such a degree he forgot what the point of being a jazz drummer in the first place even is because of fletcher's cruelty and thinks that playing a solo is enough "jazz" to impress some guy whom the audience only sees playing corporate bossanova. it just goes to show how ingrained fletcher's abuse truly is in neimann, that this victory doesn't even really fit in the spirit of jazz and artistic freedom. it's hard to do when a dictator's breathing down your neck.

A shot I love from the finale of Andrew's father looking at him through the doors offstage. The expression on his face is brokenhearted, horrified. It's a quick shot but communicates the scene's intention perfectly.

I never saw this as a happy ending at all. To me Fletcher was a villain, and that's it. Including the suicide angle in the movie to me always made it clear that no success was worth the lives of the young. It's a complex relationship, as abusive relationships tend to be. No "happy" angles here. Humans can make good of the shittiest situations.

To me the movie shows that this kind of success is ultimately empty and destructive. Fletcher sacrifices one of his students' life and others' physical and psychological well-being to get one great drummer, while Neiman sacrifices his relationships and ends up completely isolated to become one. In the end he is the great drummer he dreamed to be but, other than that, he has nothing in his life and will probably continue to have nothing since to maintain this success he will have to continue practicing and making sacrifices, with no time for family or relationships and seeing others as beneath him.

The way I interpreted the ending, it wasn't entirely about validating Fletcher. By this point in the film, both Andrew & Fletcher hated each other's guts. Andrew did what he did at the end for himself, not for Fletcher. Bebop jazz is often cited as a contained dialogue between musicians, understanding & building off of each other. I believe Andrew, for the first time in the film, communicated that he had become his own man, not defined by or controlled by Fletcher. This is implied by his decision to take control of the ensemble against Fletcher's wishes. At that moment, Andrew seized control of the ensemble & ambience from Fletcher. The band belonged to Andrew in that moment. Fletcher cares about his professional reputation & wouldn't force stop the ensemble to make a scene. Andrew knows this & weaponizes it to both earn accolades from the audience & metaphorically flip off Fletcher for attempting to ruin his career among all the other emotional trauma. While Fletcher is infuriated by this on a personal level, the musician side of him can't help but to respect Andrew in that moment for not backing down and for asserting dominance. Fletcher begins to realize Andrew is undergoing the exact evolution he was trying to manufacture his whole teaching career & decides to go with it, despite the insurrection & the personal animosity he feels toward Andrew because he respects the glowing passion he sees & he knows the show must go on. While Fletcher technically still got what he wanted in the end, Andrew's evolution moment happened in spite of Fletcher, rather than being a byproduct of seeking his approval. Andrew took control & Fletcher took a backseat. When they smile at each other, it isn't as people who've suddenly forgotten their disdain for each other. They smile at each other as two musicians who've put their differences on hold to acknowledge the passion of the moment because at their core, their desire for greatness is most important to them.

If Fletcher was really as prestigious of a figure in the New York jazz scene as the movie makes him out to be, Neiman would have instantly attained cult hero status when he attacked Fletcher on the stage. Everyone in the band, everyone in the audience, everyone connected with the Schafer program in any way would have been talking about this incident INCESSANTLY. Fletcher's status as a sadistic teacher would have been well known, and the majority of people probably would have been sympathetic to Neiman, especially considering he'd been hit by a truck just minutes earlier. Everyone in the music press would be banging down Neiman's door trying to interview him, and in all likelihood he would have gotten plenty of gigs out of the resulting notoriety. I feel like they could have worked this angle into the plot and still had the fateful reunion with Fletcher resulting in the finale's concert.

You can see it in how his dad looks at him in that scene. He know's he's losing his son, that Fletcher has trapped him in his web again and now he's succeeded beyond all doubt, it's going to be impossible to pull him back out.

Honestly, I read the ending more as Neiman didn't care anymore what Fletcher thought, but Neiman knew he had a great opportunity to flex his skills in front of a lot of people, and a lot of important people at that, so Neiman went back after hugging his father and hijacked Fletcher's own show, using it to showcase himself instead. Fletcher can't really deny Neiman's ability at that point, and now, because Neiman had the balls to hijack his own show while playing flawlessly, at least respects Neiman enough to give him this moment. Neiman, knowing he can't conduct an entire jazz band by himself, accepts Flethcer's help in the moment and the two do get a brief glimpse of what maybe could have been if Fletcher wasn't so abusive. The end. Not sure how the director meant the ending when he made it, but that's how it came off to me.

It's an endless cycle of abuse. I am an artist and I understand how hard it is so love your job and also having it to live a normal daily life. It can be so hard to love your passio, but feeling forced to do it every single day and I feel like its Andrew's situation. The moment he stepped into fletchers studio, I felt that love and passion died inside him cause of the pressure of "being one of the greats." You can't do your passion everyday you will get tired of pushing yourself everyday its exhausting. Art is something made for the artist, not other people, and Neiman was doing his passion for fletcher, which I would say is not a fun way to pursue band (thanks for reading this btw)

Just saw this movie again. Just fantastic. Also the various interpretations and thoughts conveyed in the comments here also shows how great this script is. Excellent stuff.

Essentially, whiplash didn't actually give us a happy ending. It manipulated us into thinking it did. We became Neiman.

The ending seems such an intense portrayal of a narcissist - victim co-dependent relationship, the victim 'playing' the exact tunes that the narcissist needs. Fletcher's smile at the end seems like an addict's who got his dose and then everything collapsed until he craves another high.

That was eloquently spoken and you depicted your thoughts excellently, I enjoyed this video and I feel like I’ve learnt something new. Nice.

This was amazing, it really gave me a whole new perspective, great video

Don't worry guys, the MC of Whiplash doesn't die of an overdose. He dies to old age peacefully after retiring from his air force pilot job with his best friends.

There is a read of the ending where Neiman could only push through because he turned away from Fletcher. He didn't have that moment under Fletcher's tutelage. He didn't have that moment without hugging his father before. Fletcher was just along for the ride in that last scene. Sure, Fletcher probably doesn't see it that way, and the ambiguity of the scene is what makes us talk about it and consider it thoughtfully. But on the other hand, maybe Fletcher did understand that Neiman only succeeded after violently opposing what Fletcher was doing and ripping control of the band away from him in that scene.

I always had that weird feeling about the ending, and I have to say, you managed to put my thoughts perfectly into words. Thank you for that beautiful essay.

As someone who only recently watched this movie, the ending was unexpected and one of the most satisfying endings in cinema I've experienced. It totally made me forget that Andrew would probably live a life similar to the other student of Fletcher, as I was more focused on the fact that his career is now most definitely made, not only because he will have Fletcher's support, but also because of the audience present at this display at the end.

I'm a martial artist. I've had some extremely severe yet caring teachers in the martial arts. Being abusive and being tough are not the same thing. I did not see the end of Whiplash as a happy ending. I was happy that the student found excellence but it annoyed me that the teacher was not destroyed by his arrogance. Maybe he was, because I saw his smile as diabolical as opposed to genuine.

You can see the movie as a defense of abuse and insanity as a method, or you can see it as an amoral depiction of the brutal and often tragic ordeal of trying to become extraordinary at something.

this is a wonderful analysis of the ending. I think you nailed it right on the head. especially the ending being more about feeling relieved in a toxic dynamic.

Bravo! Lately I have been watching first watch videos on RU-vid. This film was seen for the first time by someone and their reaction was “he’s a villain”. And then the ending came and I forgot their reaction but I felt myself being pulled in to your question. I love the fact that we can have films these days that have this much truth and allow for this much debate. I might deem him the antihero but at the same time his success as well as his student following is great conversation and debate. Thank you!

“When something is presented cinematically with a skilled performer it feels true.” This might be one of the most insightful things I’ve ever heard, and I didn’t expect to stumble on it in a RU-vid video. But it explains *a lot*, like how a younger version of me could have thought Fight Club was an aspirational counter-culture fable, for example. But this is why film analysis like yours is so useful, because it allows the art to be somewhat opaque (leading to better stories) and the critiques to be somewhat pedantic, which leads to better understanding of the stories. Thank you so much. I fucking love Whiplash. ETA: I just want to add one bit of pushback on your analysis, which is, I think, a fairly uncontroversial one: that the ending of Whiplash is ambiguous, despite the triumph we feel in the audience. The director’s been up front about Neiman’s probable fate, that he’ll end up dead like Fletcher’s other student, but one thing I have heard mentioned is that THAT’S WHAT NEIMAN WANTS. That’s *his* happy ending, which we hear him explicitly articulate in the family dinner scene. He always wanted to burn brilliantly and burn out; there is some kind of flaw in his soul. A tragic flaw, if you will. Fuck, this movie’s so good.

There's also the misunderstanding that Andrew succeeded in impressing the pros in the audience (the concert was kind of an audition/showcase). After listening to the two songs, most people in the audience would have gotten the impression that Andrew was a great soloist, but an awful rhythm section member, which is not a combination bandleaders would be interested in when looking for a drummer. Add to that the psychological problems, and it is clear that Andrew is always going to struggle with his career and his life. In an interview, Chazelle stated, "Andrew will be a sad, empty shell of a person and will die in his 30s of a drug overdose." Thus, the argument of whether or not Fletcher's methods were justified because they helped Andrew achieved greatness is misleading. All Andrew has achieved (by the end of the film) is a great solo.

This is amazing! I really enjoyed it ❤️

Superb analysis, really enjoyed the vid. Thanks!

One of my favorite movies and to answer the question, I don't think abuse should be received in order to get results. As someone with ADD, I'd rather be distracted and only get a little bit done in a day than to take Adderal, get a lot done in a day, but lose my personality in the process. Sucess is different for everyone and no one should have to suffer at the hands of another in order to achieve that.

The abuse done in a learning experience makes you train/learn much more because of the fear and/or the approval of the abuser. What's doing the results isn't the abuse itself but it's the fact that you spend so much more time training and learning that makes you a pro. There have been ALOT of people who trained like crazy in their domain because they were inspired and passionate about it and achieved the same results. So no, being abusive doesn't give results in itself.

To me, this film is exceptional because the protagonist and antagonist have the same goal: greatness. I don't think this is just about wanting results. I believe that both Fletcher and Nieman have gone insane and cycle through a toxic relationship. Yes, Fletcher absolutely amplifies Nieman's anxiety and is abusive towards him - but Nieman too is abusive towards himself. He puts himself through whatever means necessary to be the best fit for the role in his pursuit of becoming one of the greatest drummers of all time. So here's an interesting thought: is Fletcher so hard on Nieman because he believes he is capable of achieving greatness or because abusers are more likely to abuse individuals like Nieman that exhibit traits of low self-esteem, vulnerability, desire, etc? In my opinion, the ending of this film not only results in Fletcher and Nieman achieving greatness but going above and beyond. This moment isn't like every other film where the hero and villain are on the cliché grand stage and one defeats the other. No, they are on a relatively small stage that separates their relevance from space and time. It is an absolutely triumphant moment when one least expects it. Chazelle certainly might disagree with me and I can't argue with the creator necessarily but I view this moment as the ultimate win. There can only be one hero in this film and it is Nieman. Not only does he win but he conquers his enemy and his dreams. This brings us back to the final question of this video: What do we do with a leadership style that harms the person, but gets results? Well, both sides can be argued, as in this video. Bobby Knight was able to produce an undefeated season and is viewed as a hero whereas the latter examples produced the opposite desired outcome. Another great example, like Knight, is Steve Jobs. He was both a tyrant and a hero to both his family and business. I assume it would be redundant for me to list the results he produced. Abuse is a very troubling reality for many people across the world and in every case, I would argue that kindness is the key to healthy living. Unfortunately, a great sword can not be made without precision, heat and force. It is important to keep in mind that this is "just a film" - and how many Steve Jobs' are there for every John Brannen? In Nieman's case, I view him as someone that overcame the abuse but when considering where he goes on from that moment can't be known for sure. Does the audience just view him and Fletcher as lunatics even though for them it is a triumphant moment? Does Nieman continue his greatness from that point on? Do Nieman and the cancelled Fletcher continue the cycle of their toxic relationship? Who knows. All I know is that movie absolutely rips. Kudos to everyone involved in that film, for like the hero and antagonist, they achieved greatness!

I've noticed how no-one has mentioned a small detail about the dinner scene. As he's talking to his father, Andrew mentions how Charlie Parker only gained a friend after a cymbal was thrown at his head. Well later on in the movie Fletcher recalls how he told Andrew that story, them both sharing a nice moment in remembering the time. It was such a small thing but it goes to show how Fletcher impacted Andrew. I think that Andrew's fate was sealed, and the death of one of Fletcher's former students showed where Andrew would be going. He gave up his sanity for perfection, to indulge himself into his craft so much so that he's nothing more than what he can preform. I think Fletcher only receives validation in the end, seeing what his months of destruction and rebuilding has amounted to. The ending is nothing more than the last glimpse of Andrew devoting himself, being sucked back in by Fletcher to sign away his life.

drum go brrrrt

It’s probably one of my favorite movies because of how many angles you can view it from. You can isolate it down to a story of abuse, one of achieving potential, or academic pressure to follow through with a path you chose. You can mix all of those together and witness it as a human mind experiencing human problems, or the contrived plot of a tightly written story that pegs its tension. It truly is a beautiful little gem that is so easy to rewatch.

Now that was an good ending to the video... I spit water all over my computer... One hell of an video, well done man.

The scene where they lock eyes says it all, Andrew was scared until Fletcher smiled, which was an indicator that Andrew was allowed to smile

It’s nice to feel validated about this ending. I know more people are aware of its true undertones nowadays, but I remember how many people first thought it was a happy ending of a sort. And I was constantly arguing against that, because I felt like the dad’s reaction was clearly one of horror, and the sense of exhilaration the ending gives you is easily mistakable as a positive thing, when really it’s incredibly dark

The movie only gets better and better. Even though I’ve only seen it for the first time a couple months ago, it still permeates in my head tossing around this question that the finale tosses up despite setting the drumsticks down. Thanks for highlighting this and mulling over this difficult ending to a phenomenal film.

Some of the most rewarding moments I look back on were times I had to dig-deep and pull through dark and desperately challenging events. Seeing yourself grow and doting on the ones that helped you through it; mentor, friend, and even a rival. I can't help but feel love for both characters, even if the method was toxic.

One of the only few movies where it keeps you watching for the entire 2 hours and is very entertaining. The performances are phenomenal and the way that it is directed is quite perfect. I think there were so many foreshadowing events that took place that were very key details for Neimans character and the way of his obsession with his passion is what makes the movie just more intense and entertaining. I especially replayed the part of him getting into the car accident and going back to get his drums to play, such a way to show how much he really is obsessed and was affected due to Neiman’s way of teaching him.

Whiplash is arguably my favorite film made. The last segment literally gave me chills and the raw emotion & power is incredibly gripping. I rlly need to rewatch

I trained as a classical musician for a really long time, even have a degree in it. I can't speak for the rest of the classical world, but I can say that while Fletcher's physical abuse would definitely not be overlooked nowadays, the intense pressure and anxiety he purposely causes others to feel, all the emotional stuff in this movie IS true. It was a common thing in my class at uni to have a total emotional breakdown at least once during the course. It was common to talk about some of the crueler things teachers had said. I had one teacher who made everyone I knew cry at least once by making them feel bad about their playing. We even had a conductor who was loved by the faculty and highly praised, but in the past he'd been known for being an angry drunk and he'd literally thrown chairs at people before. But he was someone who was kept around because he got "results." This video is completely right in that legitimate abuse can get overlooked if it leads to "greatness". And it's not like times have changed hugely. I'm not even that old, in fact I literally got my degree the year after Whiplash came out. Part of me wishes the ending was less ambiguous because I think there need to be more discussions around abuse with high-level performance areas like music or sports. But I'm very glad this movie got made *and* especially that it does end on a sour note (even if it's ambiguous), because I do truly believe that tolerating abuse isn't at all necessary to achieve greatness, and it's very sad that a vast majority of the people I knew when I was deep in the classical music world think otherwise.

Love this film. Great analysis of the complex and toxic dynamic here; well-done!

Bravo evan. Please make more vids! You're great at this.

what happens on the other side of happily ever after? It's a question that that permeates more and more of my appreciation of things. Great video!

Didn't the director say it was about a music teacher he had when he was young, and that he dropped out? I see this movie as him wondering what kind of person would go through with it. And that's exactly what the movie does. It shows us the amount of obsession needed, and it doesn't paint it positively

A good coach will push you to your limits, a great coach will push you to limits you never knew you had. Great movie. Although I do not condone the abuse, I was highly satisfied to see the result.

very well done with this analysis. so much truth in what you propose

If you keep uploading videos like this you’re going to blow up. You’re already so good at this wow

Damn Evan! Whiplash is one of my faves and I love this analysis of its ending

This is a great video as it brings up angles I hadn't considered. Fletcher is like many abusive people, where they leave their abusers always seeking approval. Thanks for the excellent work :)

Congrats on a million views!!!

Perfectly encapsulates how I felt about the ending. Love it.

An interesting observation about Andrew Neiman at the end of the film is how hostile and rebellious against Fletcher's approval or disapproval he was in that performance, even mouthing the words, "fuck you," early on. So, while Fletcher's abuse was deeply unethical, it was the realization on Andrew's part that his giving a shit about what this abusive person thought of him was what held him back from achieving true greatness. So, if Fletcher had the intuition that his relentless abuse would lead to this display true artistic greatness (besides Fletcher merely being a sadist), then he indeed achieved his aim by the end of the film, along with Andrew in fact. The biggest commonality between Andrew and Fletcher is that they both appear to value great art (in this case, music) more than human wellbeing (their own or others), Andrew often putting himself through more abuse than Fletcher ever put him through, not to mention Andrew's severing of a promising romantic relationship in the service of his higher calling. I think that's fundamental to understanding why this brutal form of motivation is effective on some people (or teams) and not others. The difference being that the former is aligned with their mentors valuing human greatness above human wellbeing, and the latter valuing the inverse of that.

Definitely. Having followed Neiman the whole movie and getting to the ending it's like "YES Go Andrew" and then you realize oh, that means Fletcher gets validated. He's "right" here. Well this is awkward. Great analysis and I liked how you cut the end at the start of the video and picked it up to likewise close out the video. Nice touch

I know I am like one year late, but I just wanted to say: nice video. I just watched the movie and I absolutely loved but I had the same feeling as you with the ending. Although I loved the movie it felt a little weird that the movie doesn’t punish Fletcher's behavior, but this helped me to clear my mind, thank you!

Great thoughts. I used to love watching movies like this. It felt like a good thing to be pushed like this. Maybe not this bad, but you loved to watch the kid meet expectations of the mentor. More than anything, great video. Thanks for the work put into it!

The thing is, you can get good results while building somebody up, and you can make a good product without crunch. The lie that abuse or crunch is necessary is there to cover over incompetence. A good teacher is sometimes severe and sometimes pushes you, especially when he can see that you are not giving your best, but he also knows when to back down and encourage. Teaching is that push pull, sometimes you have to be that strict-no BS enforcer, other times you have to be gentle and encouraging, there's a push-pull to it. And Fletcher only knows how to push, not to pull. So he's not really a good teacher.

I absolutely loved this analysis.

Oh my God - man! This video is EXACTLY what I needed, after seeing the movie for the first time yesterday (9yrs after the premiere!). I was hoping to experience the masterpiece everyone was talking about, quoting in memes, and other media and so on and so forth. I wanted the masterpiece but after the last scene ended - it left me furious beyond belief!!! I was sooo mad at the director AND the industry AND the audiences around the world for elevating this piece of toxic piece of propaganda to the highest places in cinema history. I just couldn't get over it - I was hoping that maybe, juuuust maybe I'm being ignorant and this movie isn't an ad that glorifies abusive relationships. Maybe I just don't get it, and the goal of the film WAS actually to made me angry and made me think about these bloody dynamics portrait so amazingly by the cast. Long story short - your analysis and interpretation gave me what I couldn't get myself from the movie itself - some sort of closure, and satisfaction that my judgment is totally crazy. The bits from the interviews with the director AND the part with this subliminal message that you're getting from the move 2:34 were soooo valuable. So yeah, thanks a ton mate :)

The message (not the intended one) is not about abuse, effort or human relationship. Is more about the nature of madness. If you are going to such lengths of obsession you enter a region where you have no option but success, you entered this palce where even an above average result becomes mediocre. Fischer, Newton, Kurt Cobain, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Gogh, Tesla... The story of those people without a success in the end would be just a cautionary tale about the dangers of obsession. In times of toxic positivity is easy to overlook the love needed to make a torturous path produce results, suffering by itself is not a bad thing, a meaningless suffering is.

God I loved the ending of this movie so much. The way the editor denies us seeing the words "good job" escaping from lips of J.K. Simmons. One part triumphant victory and simultaneously two parts cautionary tale make for an ending that feels horrific and joyful at the same time. It was so refreshing to see a film refrain from beating us over the head with a prescriptive moralistic theme. the ending felt honest, even though it was bittersweet

I understood this conflicted ending on my first watch, so that ending sequence was unfogettable! What a finale for an amazing movie!

Fletcher got what he wanted in the end, total domination and manipulation of his student. He doesn't care about the person, he only cared about what that person could do to indulge in his completely warped notion of what quality or success is about. They are both smiling at the end, but the end is one of the saddest endings that I've ever witnessed is a movie, and at the same time one of the best sad endings ever filmed in cinema!

Maybe I interpreted it wrong, but the way Fletcher's mouth moves at the end of the movie to me looks like he says "good job," which is honestly what I would expect Fletcher to say as his praise would just continue the cycle of abuse.

I just played through the first hour of Gris like literally 35 seconds ago, got on RU-vid to watch your Gris video again and got here within 5 minutes of you uploading haha.

Awesome video essay. Not sure why you disappeared, but thanks for sharing these thoughts about a controversial and thought-provoking film.

Havent seen a good video like this in a while

andrew gave in on fletcher's obsession. andrew should have just stood up right before the last note and walked away with his father to give fletcher his tragic moment and tragic ending. nonetheless, the ending was really troubling and disturbing for me. but still the ending was a good choice for a wonderful movie like this.

I always view this movie as a horror movie,the ending was him defeating the monster.The roles would be reversed from here on out.

I just saw the movie and your commentary made me want a sequel.

Thanks for pointing this out. I think a lot of people misunderstood what was being conveyed. GOOD JOB!

Fletcher's intent in breaking down the ego into becoming closer to perfection and finding genius within us is pure, its his method that makes him a monster.

This is the only video on Whiplash I've seen, so far, that I agree with. I read people saying "the perfect ending" and what not but it's neither a positive ending nor a good one in terms of storytelling - I feel. Andrew's character barely has any development. He starts off as an ambitious and motivated musician, becomes more and more emotionally detatched from friend(s) and family; becomes more obsessed and also kind of abusive like his "mentor" or some might say he becomes more confident. But in the end he is still only focused on becoming a great musician and earning his abuser's approval. His skill improves along the way but that is not a character trait. When Fletcher offers him the part as drummer for the JVC band, I thought (maybe hoped) he was going to turn it down and show that he isn't desperate for Fletcher's approval anymore or that his love for music is not worth throwing away his mental health. He could've called out Fletcher on the bullshit about the former student who committed suicide. At the concert in the end, I thought he was going to mess up on purpose and thereby ruin Fletcher's reputation (more). Or maybe have a tremendous performance and then just up and leave in the middle of the concert, as to stick it to his former abuser. Instead, he just validates all the abuse his fucking cuntass piece of shit instructor gave him. Fletcher exposes his own hypocrisy when Andrew asks if you can go too far and maybe discourage the next Charlie Parker from becoming Charlie Parker. "No. Because the next Charlie Parker would never be discouraged." Charlie Parker and the basketball athletes you mentioned in this video all achieved their success IN SPITE of all the abuse they were put through and not because of it. As evidenced by a great many more instances of abusive methods from teachers and coaches failing, instead of "getting results".

I think you asked the right questions, not quite the answer or takeaway I would have concluded. But good content none the less. Subscribed

I like to imagine that that moment where Fletcher smiles, and we can’t see his mouth but it seems to open and close twice, he’s saying “good job,” like either he’s come around a bit or he thinks he’s getting his ultimate revenge.