Whiplash · written by Damien Chazelle · 2014

Expelled from Shaffer, Andrew watches a childhood drum video, breaks it, and throws his practice tools away.

Scene 86 of 117 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Eight-Year-Old Andrew
Jim

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:20 into a 1:54 film

The story so farBefore scene 86

A young jazz drummer pursues a place among the country’s best, pushing himself toward greatness under the control of a brilliant, abusive instructor.

Scenes 1–6
Andrew lives inside solitary practice, family movie nights, and an ideal of greatness learned from jazz legends.
Scenes 7–13
Shaffer's hierarchy makes Andrew doubt his prospects, while he wants a chance to become an exceptional drummer.
Scenes 14–17
Fletcher draws Andrew back from transferring, and Andrew enters Studio Band while beginning a relationship with Nicole.
Scenes 18–48
Andrew learns Fletcher's brutal rules, competes for status, and tries to survive the first rehearsals.
Scenes 49–50
Andrew plays Whiplash from memory and helps Shaffer win the competition, gaining the core position he wanted.
Scenes 51–85
He pays through isolation, injury, and public failure as Fletcher's tests consume his relationships and safety.
Just before
Scene 83
With a broken finger and bleeding hand, Andrew crawls from the wreck and retrieves his sticks despite the driver's warning.
Scene 84
Andrew runs into the auditorium lobby, injured and disoriented, focused only on reaching the stage.
Scene 85
Andrew plays through his injury until he loses the beat, then attacks Fletcher and is dragged away.
Scene 86
This scene

86INT. ANDREW’S DORMITORY - DAY

Andrew stands alone in his dorm. Staring into space. A bandage on his hand. Time has passed...

Lets his eyes take in one item at a time: A drum pad on the floor. A metronome. A DISMISSAL LETTER... He’s been expelled from Shaffer.

A DVD. He slides that into his laptop, sits down slowly...

Pink (9/10/2013)

A HOME VIDEO begins: a smiling EIGHT-YEAR-OLD BOY at a DRUM... It’s ANDREW... Innocent, bright-eyed, having a blast...

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD ANDREW

...and this is my pa-ra-did-dle...

He plays a paradiddle on the drum: left-right-left-left. A CHEER off-camera, a voice we recognize -- his father, JIM--

JIM (O.S.)

Woooo-hoooo!!!

EIGHT-YEAR-OLD ANDREW glows. And our Andrew, hurting, tearing up, watches...

Pulls the DVD out. SNAPS it in half. Tosses the halves in the trash. Slides the drum pad and metronome into the trash as well. Ties the trash bag and pulls it out.