Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for the film Whiplash comply withFew administrators in current reminiscence have had as meteoric an ascent as Damien Chazelle. His 2014 Sundance breakout Whiplash proved an enormous sleeper hit and received three Oscars, most notably Supporting Actor for JK Simmons. His follow-up, La La Land, was one of the profitable film musicals of the 2010s and made Chazelle the youngest particular person ever to win a Greatest Director Oscar. And whereas his subsequent two movies, First Man and Babylon, didn’t show almost as profitable (Babylon particularly was an enormous box-office bomb), each of them have aged higher than you’d anticipate and stay underappreciated.
No matter the place his profession goes subsequent, it’s onerous to disclaim that the one-two punch of Whiplash and La La Land was possibly one of the thrilling for any filmmaker in current reminiscence. Each motion pictures have been exhilaratingly crafted and acted, they usually did nothing if not announce Chazelle as a significant participant to be reckoned with. And contemplating how beloved they nonetheless are amongst movie junkies, it’s maybe inevitable that somebody would suspect the 2 have been secretly linked. But a preferred Reddit concept posits precisely that and argues that La La Land is definitely a stealth sequel to Whiplash.
Whiplash
- Launch Date
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October 10, 2014
- Runtime
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107 Minutes
Do ‘Whiplash’ and ‘La La Land’ Secretly Join?
Two years in the past on the FanTheories subReddit, a person posited a concept that Whiplash and La La Land happen in the identical universe. The precise connecting hyperlink? JK Simmons performed a job in each movies (albeit solely an prolonged cameo in La La Land), and the idea states that his character within the latter, Invoice, is definitely secretly Terrence Fletcher, the antagonist of Whiplash.
The speculation speculated that after Fletcher will get fired close to the top of Whiplash for his abusive instructing strategies, he relocates to Los Angeles and turns into a restaurant proprietor. Most tellingly is the truth that “Invoice” is equally cantankerous, unjustly firing piano participant Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) after disobeying his orders to solely play Christmas music for the patrons. And whereas it’s not almost as extreme as the acute verbal abuse Fletcher frequently resorts to, it’s nonetheless simple to be reminded of his mantra, “not fairly my tempo.”
However the hypothesis doesn’t cease there. Since Sebastian performs jazz music within the diner, the fan concept additionally argued that this reminded Invoice/Fletcher an excessive amount of of Whiplash’s Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), the pupil who obtained him fired from his lengthy and storied profession at Shaffer. Within the aftermath, he’d change into resentful of jazz music and, particularly, the probability that Neiman doubtless would’ve loved a profitable profession as a musician whereas his personal status was ruined. Thus, his causes for firing Sebastian would’ve been particularly rooted in his harbored resentment, moderately than simply for Sebastian’s insubordination.
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Does the ‘Whiplash’-‘La La Land’ Idea Maintain Water?
However exterior the plain JK Simmons connection, is there actually a lot foundation on this concept? We’d argue it’s a stretch. Simmons’ involvement in each movies may be principally attributed to his optimistic working relationship with Chazelle on Whiplash, and the truth that administrators at all times have particular actors they love working with (a notable current partnership being Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan). And whereas Whiplash and La La Land discover comparable thematic materials, particularly the prices of following one’s goals, the grounded and cynical world of the previous couldn’t be extra completely different than the dreamlike, fantastical take a look at Los Angeles within the latter.
However even wanting particularly on the precise textual content of each movies, there’s not rather a lot to assist the idea that the 2 are secretly linked. To start with, it ignores a variety of the subtext that made Whiplash’s climax such a incredible mic drop. The ending live performance takes place after Fletcher has already been fired, and whereas he does permit Neiman to carry out along with his skilled band in hopes to humiliate him, he’s rapidly upstaged. Neiman guides the band right into a efficiency of “Caravan” towards his orders, and when he reaches an prolonged outro drum solo, Fletcher goes from infuriated to impressed.
Having spoken your entire movie about wanting to find the following Charlie Parker, Fletcher realizes he’s discovered him, and at last nods his approval. As such, Fletcher would not have any actual resentment in direction of Neiman, and positively no motive to show towards jazz as an artform (the truth that he nonetheless has a band of his personal additionally means he’d doubtless nonetheless have a profitable profession).
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‘Whiplash’ and ‘La La Land’ Would Nonetheless Make a Nice Double Characteristic
All this being mentioned, exterior the Damien Chazelle within the room, each Whiplash and La La Land do nonetheless share one massive factor in frequent — they’re incredible movies. In actual fact, as a result of they take such polar reverse approaches to exploring musicians and inventive passions, they might truly make a incredible double function. Whereas Whiplash takes a gritty, tragic take a look at the place obsession ends and self-destruction begins, La La Land is considerably extra uplifting and an ideal romance, albeit nonetheless bittersweet. And each motion pictures show that it’s no surprise Damien Chazelle grew to become a family identify as rapidly as he did, even when they don’t truly exist in the identical universe.
La La Land
- Launch Date
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December 9, 2016
- Runtime
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128 Minutes