"You're done."

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2015)

With this picture coming out about a year ago as I write this, and the last few months demonstrating how more and more college campuses are clamoring for 'safety zones' and students finding even the slightest uncomfortable situation offensive, I have to wonder how someone like Fletcher would survive as an instructor today. As Fletcher, J.K. Simmons manages to demonstrate all the worst characteristics of, forget about teachers, but of human beings altogether, on a par with someone like North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and he had family members executed when they couldn't keep a beat.
Seriously, even though I don't have a musical ear per se, how can one tell if a drummer is drumming too fast or too slow after two seconds, maybe less? That poor schmuck in the orchestra who got tossed when the other guy was the culprit probably went and committed suicide too if the story had followed him out the door. Fletcher's rants about perfection went beyond summoning inspiration and degenerated into nothing less than physical and emotional abuse. That Andrew put up with it and devised his own revenge may not have been the best way to deal with a monster like Fletcher, but at least he came away with a shred of dignity.
This is an intense film and if you're not expecting the drama that goes with the story you'll be taken aback by the characters, situations and language that emanates from the players. I think it's a worthwhile film to see if one can keep a perspective on what it takes to achieve mastery of a subject without falling victim to abuse and risking one's health and sanity to do it. Both of the principal players are dynamic and excellent in their roles, and I couldn't help noticing that in certain scenes, Miles Teller had just the right look for the lead role in a movie about the Elvis Presley story.