A c-milking masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2016)

As a drummer, I wasn't sure what to expect going into this film. I knew the general idea of the story and of its reputation, but it's hard to be prepared for the actual level of intensity and visceral emotion put into the performance. This is the kind of movie that deserves a close watch and attention to detail; it's by no means light watching or something to "turn on in the background." This is completely uncompromising and gripping drama that may also hold additional interest for drummers, jazz aficionados, or anyone who works at a craft that requires copious amounts of practice.
The basic synopsis for this story is that Andrew is an aspiring jazz drummer at a music conservatory who will stop at nothing to achieve greatness, and his teacher Fletcher is a jazz band director who will stop at nothing to unlock greatness. One might think that this combination of goals should allow for a fruitful and cooperative partnership, but the way that the two go about pushing themselves to find this greatness is as destructive socially as it is constructive musically. This space isn't meant to give deep film analysis, so suffice it to say that this is one of several interesting ironies found within this story. Without getting into any finer plot points or spoilers, the meat of this film lies in watching Andrew fall into complete social isolation and obsessive/unhealthy practice habits to improve, while Fletcher pushes him in some less than conventional (and often illegal) methods that would make R. Lee Ermey or Louis Gossett Jr. blush. The contrasting notions of respect, conflict and hatred between the characters are extremely compelling throughout.
Your mileage may vary, but this movie was a solid 10/10 for me. As long as you aren't overly sensitive or have a short attention span, I think the film brings a lot to the table. First of all, the acting is absolutely superb. JK Simmons is always good, but he's never been better than in this film. He plays Fletcher to the point where he draws so much contempt from the audience that it can be easy to forget he is just playing a role at times... and yet, there is this slightest twinkle of humanity that he manages to hold onto and instill somewhere deep within the character that leads you to wonder whether or not there is any actual goodness present and the nature of his true motives. The sights and sounds of the movie are top notch. The cinematography is a very strong point for the film. While the film sets aren't particularly interesting, and don't need to be for this film, the frenetic action drumming shots from various perspectives really feed the emotion and intensity of this film. The audience can feel Andrew's pain and his triumph as he physically and mentally pushes himself through these performances. There are a lot of great perspective shots off of the cymbals and drum heads. Andrew (Miles Teller) is a drummer in real life, and did perform these parts to a certain extent, but a ton of expert editing went into this movie to make the performances look 100% accurate and legitimate to actual musician viewers. Aurally, there's a good selection of well-mixed jazz numbers in this movie that really bring it to life.
This movie is not for everyone, some people will always only feel comfortable with lighter fare and a more conventional plot sequence. However, in my eyes, this does not detract from the rating. Art doesn't need to make compromises. Greatness doesn't need to make compromises. This is a main theme of the film. Realize this: this film's very existence and earned success in modern mainstream cinema is almost an exact mirror of the struggle that Andrew and Fletcher face in their quest to create something legendary and lasting. Uncompromising and goal-oriented, unwilling to bend or show any leniency for social awareness... and yet the movie was able to garner an 8+ IMDb rating and 90%+ on other critic aggregate sites. There is no doubt in my mind: if this film reined it in a bit and adopted a more conventional and digestible story, it would have not received the same amount of critical or audience acclaim. The film is absolutely relentless from start to finish in the best way.