Fine film but really painful to watch

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2014)

I could not help but recognize that this is sure to be one of the top films of the year. That's thanks to both great work by the director and superlative acting by virtually everyone, but especially the two stars. I had to rethink the quality of this film once it ended because I found it on many levels truly painful to watch. The "music professor" was such a villain I was cursing him out while watching his performance. And talk about sexist! It's so bad it's hardly worth mentioning.
As a life long jazz fan, I found the music really dynamite, even though I usually hate drum solos. And since I'm a former New Yorker who currently lives in New Orleans, I'd describe the music as very Big Apple, which means it's the kind of stuff that in a New York club will generally run you a $25 or more cover plus a two drink minimum, and let's not talk about what it cost to park your car. And tempo as an issue? Guys down here in the Big Easy can get angry if you even ask them to tune up! One other problem I had was making Charlie Parker a sort of ultimate jazz hero. Let's not forget that Bird died at 34, his body so ravaged by heroin that the Coroner estimated his age as 50 to 60. Not quite my idea of someone you'd want to hold up as a role model.