It's difficult to give Damien Chazelle's short film Whiplash, a seventeen minute long scene that is created almost verbatim in the feature-length film with a much more sophisticated production and a larger budget, a fair assessment, given the obvious limitations and the lack of polish. While the feature film incorporated a very intense, gold/black color scheme, with very little exterior lighting, providing for a sense of isolation, Chazelle's short film is entirely window-lit, making for a brighter tonality that doesn't quite balance the intensity here.
The short involves Andrew Neiman (Johnny Simmons instead of Miles Teller, who starred in the feature film), a drummer at Shaffer Conservatory of Music, who is recruited to be a part of studio band, led by the ruthless, uncompromising instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons). Fletcher is a loud, vulgar instructor, pushing his students to their limits by hurling insults, personal remarks, physical abuse, and even chairs their way in order to make them the best of the best while simultaneously getting rid of those incapable of handling the challenge. This is Neiman's first day in studio band, and after sitting in and seeing what Fletcher can do to the band, he steps up to serve as the sole drummer on the orchestra piece "Whiplash." What begins as an ostensibly basic, introductory lessen, with Fletcher giving Neiman some leniency turns into Fletcher whipping him into shape by giving him a taste of what kind of an instructor he is.
Whiplash has that expected "student filmmaker sloppiness" to it, with its low-budget showing at every turn. The key element to watch is how Chazelle manages to obscure the lower budget, using quick-cuts and slickly-edited scenes showing the minute details of studio band. Chazelle foreshadows how/why the film would win Best Film Editing at the Academy Awards nicely. While watching this short film, it also occurred to me why the feature-film adaptation of Whiplash won me over; Chazelle effectively puts us in the middle of this studio band, showing us all the grueling trials, rehearsals, concerts, flubs, practices, and so forth, plunging us into this world and giving us a taste of the anxiety that builds over time. I've had numerous tell me Whiplash was one of the most intense motion pictures they've ever seen, and by that account, I think Chazelle has expertly detailed what it's like to work under the order of a demanding, vulgar instructor and with a large group of individuals where one false note can send the entire gang of players into a downward spiral.
Chazelle's short film Whiplash is a curious little feat, but is only optional to view. His feature film, Whiplash, however, is an inarguable must-see.
Starring: Johnny Simmons and J.K. Simmons. Directed by: Damien Chazelle.
