DOWNLOAD: Whiplash Script

Here is the official script for Whiplash.  Click on the "Sonyclassic" above.

Whiplash is a 2014 American drama written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It depicts the relationship between an ambitious jazz drumming student (Miles Teller) and an abusive instructor (J. K. Simmons).

Plot:

Andrew Neiman is a first-year jazz student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. He has been playing drums from a young age, and he aspires to become a world-class drummer like Buddy Rich. Famed conductor Terence Fletcher invites him into his Studio Band as the alternate for core drummer Carl Tanner. Fletcher is harsh on his students. When the band rehearses the Hank Levy piece "Whiplash" and Andrew struggles to keep the tempo, Fletcher hurls a chair at him, slaps him, and berates him in front of the ensemble.

At a jazz competition, Carl’s folder is misplaced while Andrew is guarding it. Carl cannot play without it, and Andrew tells Fletcher that he can perform "Whiplash" from memory. After a successful performance, Fletcher promotes Andrew to core drummer. Soon after, Fletcher recruits Ryan Connolly, the core drummer from Andrew's former lower-level ensemble within the conservatory. Andrew believes Connolly is a less talented drummer than him, and is infuriated when Fletcher promotes Connolly to core. Determined to impress, Andrew practices until his hands bleed, and he breaks up with his girlfriend Nicole to focus on his musical ambitions. After a grueling five-hour audition with Fletcher and the other drummers in the class, in which Fletcher kicks furniture and screams at him, Andrew earns back the core spot.

On the way to another competition, the bus Andrew is riding breaks down. He rents a car, but he arrives late, then realizes he left his drumsticks at the rental office. He races back to retrieve them, but after doing so his car is broadsided by a semi. He crawls from the wreckage, runs back to the theater, and arrives on stage bloody and injured. When he struggles to play "Caravan", faltering due to his injuries, Fletcher halts the performance and dismisses Andrew. Horrified and enraged at Fletcher's extreme lack of compassion, Andrew attacks Fletcher in front of the audience, after which he is dismissed from Shaffer Conservatory.

At his father's request, Andrew meets a lawyer representing the parents of Sean Casey, Fletcher's former student, in an ethics complaint against Shaffer Conservatory. Contrary to Fletcher's claim that Sean had died in a car accident, the lawyer explains that Sean had committed suicide due to depression that started when he was abused and insulted in school by Fletcher. Sean's parents want to see Fletcher dismissed and forbidden from teaching again. Andrew agrees to testify on the condition of anonymity (likely due to fear of some sort of attempted retribution by Fletcher) and Fletcher is fired.

Months later, Andrew has abandoned drumming and is working in a restaurant. He discovers Fletcher performing as a pianist in a combo at a jazz club. After the performance, Fletcher invites Andrew for a drink. He explains that he pushed his students so that they might become the next Louis Armstrong or Charlie Parker. Andrew accepts Fletcher's invitation to drum with his band at the JVC Jazz Festival. He invites Nicole to the performance, but she has a new relationship.

On stage, just before the performance begins, Fletcher reveals that he knows Andrew testified against him, and starts the concert with a piece Andrew does not know. Andrew leaves the stage humiliated, but he returns, begins playing "Caravan", and cues the band. As the piece ends and the lights go down, Andrew continues his solo. Fletcher is taken aback, but begins to guide Andrew. As the solo ends, they share a smile and Fletcher cues the finale.