Was Whiplash Realistic? That Depends On Who You Ask

In a 2014 interview with Interview Magazine, Damien Chazelle talked about how his real-life experiences helped to shape “Whiplash.” The director was part of a competitive band in high school, giving him something to help ground the themes of perfectionism in reality. When making the movie, Chazelle recalled two different kinds of reactions he would get from those who read the script; those who weren’t familiar with the life of a musician and those who were:

“When we were initially putting the movie together, there were divergent reactions. We would send the script to someone who wasn’t a musician, and they would be horrified by the behavior. Then we sent it to one of the jazz drummers at Lincoln Center, and his reaction was, ‘Well, yeah. That’s what it takes.'”

How realistic “Whiplash” is could still be considered up for debate. Scenes such as Andrew crashing his car and still attempting to show up to a performance to play the drums despite being seriously injured can seem too frightening to be accurate. Still, it all depends on the personal experience of those involved. In the case of Damien Chazelle, the director’s personal experiences with drumming would help him understand the obsession that comes with trying to be the best.