At New York City’s Shaffer Conservatory of Music, nineteen-year-old Andrew Neiman is determined to become one of the greatest drummers in history, following in the footsteps of his idol, Buddy Rich. Shaffer is the best music school in the country, but Andrew is dissatisfied with his role as the alternate player and page-turner for Ryan Connelly, the leading “core” drummer in the school’s middle-tier jazz band. With unyielding ambition and rigorous practice, Andrew garners the attention of Terence Fletcher, the austere bandleader of Shaffer’s premiere ensemble, the Studio Band. Fletcher’s handpicked group of young musicians is rated best in the country, and he is renowned for launching preeminent careers. Andrew wants nothing more than to be Fletcher’s lead drummer. One afternoon, Fletcher unexpectedly storms into Andrew’s class, tests the budding musicians, and orders Andrew to arrive at his six a.m. class the following morning. Overjoyed, Andrew goes to the movie theater he frequents with his father and asks the concession stand girl, Nicole, on a date. The next morning, he awakens three minutes late for his six o’clock class, but after rushing to the studio, he realizes the session does not begin for another three hours. At the stroke of nine a.m., Fletcher marches into a classroom of young prodigies, each standing at attention with downcast eyes. Referring to Andrew as a “squeaker,” Fletcher announces the boy will be the new alternate player and page-turner for the core drummer, Carl Tanner. He then orders the band to perform Hank Levy’s “Whiplash” in preparation for an upcoming competition. After howling insults at a horn player and kicking him out of the band for no reason, Fletcher gives the astonished boys a ten-minute break and declares that Andrew will perform during the next session. In the hallway, Fletcher changes his tone and approaches Andrew with empathy, asking about any musical influences in his family. When he learns that Andrew’s father, Jim, is a writer who makes a living as a high school teacher and that his mother abandoned the boy in his infancy, Fletcher suggests Andrew must learn from the “greats” such as Saxophonist Charlie Parker, whose career was initially considered a failure. In Fletcher’s account, Parker rose to eminence only after drummer Jo Jones tossed a cymbal at him during a poorly performed jam session. Shocked by the sudden threat of decapitation and the rejection of his contemporaries, Parker devoted himself to his craft. One year later, he astonished his critics with a groundbreaking solo and earned the moniker “Bird.” Fletcher encourages Andrew to relax in his performance, but back in the studio, he lashes out at the boy, insisting he cannot maintain the correct tempo. As Andrew responds to Fletcher’s commands, the belligerent bandleader throws a chair at him and it barely misses his head. Fletcher repeatedly slaps Andrew across the face, forcing him to internalize the tempo. Reducing the boy to tears, Fletcher yells obscenities and violates his privacy, announcing that Andrew’s mother abandoned the family because his father is a failed author. He orders the boy to practice harder and Carl takes over on drums. After a brief stint of self-doubt, Andrew returns to his practice room and masters “Whiplash,” incurring bloody blisters. Meanwhile, he dates Nicole and reveals his singular ambition: To be the best. Sometime later at the Overbrook Jazz Competition, Fletcher warns his band that Lincoln Center often selects players from the contest, and he does not want his reputation damaged. Barking insults and profanities, Fletcher vows to punish any band member who leaves his sheet music unattended. After the first set, Carl hands Andrew his music folder and the boy sets it on a chair while he gets a soft drink from a vending machine. In an instant, the sheet music mysteriously disappears. Carl whimpers to Fletcher that he cannot play without charts, but Andrew says he knows “Whiplash” by heart and Fletcher gives him a chance to perform. After the band’s first place victory, Andrew is upgraded to core drummer. He announces the news at a family dinner, but is insulted by his relatives, who fail to take his achievements seriously. Back at school, Andrew plays with renewed confidence. After rehearsal, however, Fletcher refers to him as a “temporary” band member and replaces him with Ryan Connelly, from Andrew’s former band. When Ryan outperforms him on the “double time swing,” Andrew decides to immerse himself in practicing and breaks off his relationship with Nicole, calling her a distraction. Back at Shaffer, Terrence Fletcher plays a CD and tearfully recounts the story of a former protégé, Sean Casey, who rose from obscurity to become a star player at Lincoln Center and who died the previous day in a car crash. As the band begins to play, Fletcher is dissatisfied with the “double time swing” tempo, and switches off between Andrew, Carl, and Ryan, shouting insults. After Andrew finally meets Fletcher’s approval, the conductor orders his band to arrive at 5 a.m. the next day for the Dunellen Competition in New Jersey. On the way, Andrew’s bus gets a flat tire and he frantically rents a car to get to the auditorium, only to learn that he has been replaced by Ryan. Demanding to play, Andrew realizes he forgot his drumsticks at the car rental office and Fletcher permits him eleven minutes to arrive on stage. As he races back to the theater, he is broadsided by a semi-trailer truck, but runs to the contest, bloodied and disoriented. Andrew takes the stage just in time, but is unable to hold his sticks, and Fletcher dismisses him. As the bandleader apologizes to the judges, Andrew launches at his nemesis, swinging his arms and yelling obscenities. He is later expelled from Shaffer for misconduct. At his father’s behest, Andrew meets lawyer Rachel Bornholdt, who explains that Fletcher’s story about Sean Casey’s death in a car accident was inaccurate—the boy committed suicide. Representing Sean’s family, Rachel claims that Fletcher induced Sean’s depression and convinces Andrew to confirm the bandleader’s abusive behavior. That summer, Andrew sees Fletcher perform at a jazz club and learns that his former teacher was fired from Schaffer Conservatory. However, Fletcher is unapologetic about his harsh methods and claims it is the only way to push musicians to excellence. Before they part, Fletcher invites Andrew to replace the drummer in his upcoming showcase at the “JVC” jazz festival. The boy dusts off his drum kit and arrives at the performance, where Fletcher tells the musicians that the evening will make or break their careers. As the players take their places on stage, Fletcher whispers to Andrew, revealing his knowledge that the boy caused his expulsion from Shaffer. In retaliation, Fletcher begins the show with a song Andrew does not know and is unable to improvise. Heading backstage in shame, Andrew is embraced by his father. However, Andrew turns around and surprises Fletcher and the band on stage, playing a perfect “double time swing” solo and leading the players into an impeccable version of Juan Tizol’s “Caravan.” When the song ends, Andrew continues a magnificent, five-minute solo, coached by his now-reverent ally, Fletcher.