Whiplash : The ending was all in his head

The ending was all in his head

I really do think that the part of the movie after the car crash did not happen at all and was only imagined by the main character. Everything that happens after the car crash seems a bit like a dream to me, as if it's what he is hoping he could have done but didn't get the opportunity to. It just does not seem likely that he could get up that easily from a collision like that and run to where he needed to be in time before they start playing (when even driving he was probably going to be late). Not to mention, what happened to the car after that? (I believe it was a rental so he couldn't just leave it there). There is no way the people in charge of that venue would let him enter the stage looking all bloody like that in the shape he was in. There is no way he could have physically attacked the band conductor like that on stage in public without facing charges, and forget about having the hope of firing the conductor from working at the conservatory based on allegations of misconduct after that. Ok, maybe the band conductor lied about that student dying in a car crash (possible foreshadowing) when he actually committed suicide, but this is all after the fact. Maybe the irony is that the main character is somehow hoping that the student died by suicide instead of in a car crash which is how he himself probably could have died (speculating). All the main character's fears come alive near the ending: the girl he was seeing before says she has a boyfriend, his dad is suddenly super supportive of him after his dad is a total unsympathetic jerk in the dinner scene where the whole family is acting like music is a dead end career and his father doesn't even stand up for his son despite knowing how passionate he is, the conductor reveals that he knows it was him who filed the report, a bunch of random musicians who probably don't have the classical training that the conservatory provides are miraculously just as good as those students, and he plays the same exact song according to the title and musical notes on his sheet as the rest of his band - but somehow it's the wrong song? When he gets on stage he looks at his hand and it is perfectly healed, but then a few minutes later his hand has the same exact bruising in the same place as before and there is blood on the drums? This all seems highly unlikely. And on top of all that, he gets to make the ending all about himself with an extended drum solo and gets to call the shots - telling others that he'll give them the cue and the conductor guy lets this all fly? The ending simply doesn't make sense and it seems too much like a dreamlike atmosphere for the main character. I really do not think anything after the car crash actually happened at all.

Re: The ending was all in his head

I admire the effort you put in your post. I disagree with your premise that it was all a dream. However I want to address one of your sub arguments. That his father was unsupportive of his dreams. His father clearly had misgivings about Andrew's life goals but he clearly loved his son and unconditionally supported him. They clearly had a close bond(still attending films together)...His dad consistently showed interest in Andrew's progress(their discussion in the kitchen).. His dad clearly loved his son and would have done anything to support him(from storing fruit roll ups in his apartment kitchen to attending that final show) he was simply frightened and unsure of Andrew's career selection as well as frame of mind. If my son was more interested in dying young, drug addled, penniless and alone in exchange for fame(dinner table scene, I would be very concerned....powerless but concerned. Finally, it's open to interpretation, however the shot at the final concert where Andrew's dad is peering through the curtains while Andrew is feverishly playing spoke volumes for me. The father looked scared at the demons inside Andrew that were driving him to play with such unbridled ferocity. To put it simply, he was worried about his son's well being, mentally and physically.

Thanks for your effort...it was an interesting take.

Re: The ending was all in his head

It seems like a dream because it was; a dream come true for three conducter and himself.

He didn't have any sheet music for the first song they played, which was called "Swingin." The whole point was the conducter wanted revenge, which in this case was to embarrass the drummer In front of people he cares about. He tried to improvise the song and threw the rest off the band off a little bit ( although I doubt any one in the audience knew, since we'll, it's jazz lol)

The drummer took control and started to do a solo that turned into Whiplash, once he cued the other members in. He didn't want to risk the conducter embarrassing him by playing random songs he had no sheet music for. Yes, he did make it all about himself, but after everything he's been put through I really doubt embarrassing his conducter and peers he doesn't care about really mattered to him. He just wanted to show the world he can play. The conducter allowed it to happen because at that moment he realized he "found his next Charlie Baker" , which is constantly hinted at in the movie. All the years he spent pushing his students finally paid off.

Months passed by after the car accident, so maybe that's why you're confused. Not surprising that she had a new bf, or his bruises healed. The blood you saw was just a rather silly attempt at showing how hard he's been playing.
His dad suddenly became supportive because he saw his insane performance and was in awe. And of course he agreed you show up in the first place.

Fletcher wouldn't file a police report against him for tackling him; that's totally the opposite of his character. He manned up and moved on, not going to be a baby about it. And hey plenty of people wall away from car accidents with just a few scratches, and the shock and adrenaline could cause some pretty questionable behavior. The whole point was to show how much passion he had for drumming. Showing what happened to his car would have been a little bit mundane and taken away the fast pacing.

Kudos on the "just a dream " take, but you aren't going to find many that agree with you. That theory completely ruins the power of the ending, and any decent writer would avoid that. The whole point was that both their hard work finally paid off, and for that moment they were in their own bubble , not caring about the rest of the band or the audience.
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