Incredible acting, incredible film.

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2015)

Jk Simmons gives a haunting performance as Terence Fletcher. You question his motives during the film and his manipulative manner makes you actually feel sympathy towards him at points. A character this complex could be played to such a degree that it becomes unbelievable, Simmons touches the boundaries of this but doesn't go overboard and reach this point. Flawless.
Teller's frustration as Andrew can be seen growing and growing as the film progresses, almost like a drum solo reaching it's climax, until he finally snaps. The frustration shows him almost morph into a less developed version of Fletcher. Andrews internal struggle with his desire to be 'one of the greats' and his emotional distress is one of the key components of this film - he starts off as an average kid with aspirations and transforms into someone who will do anything to reach his goal.
The only problem I found with the film (a minor detail) is that the foreshadowing was very obvious. Fletcher tells the class about Casey, a former student of his who made it professionally and recently died in a car crash. Later in the film, Andrew gets in a car crash. Then, Fletcher tells Andrew how the next Charlie Parker wouldn't be discouraged by anything - later in the film, we know there's going to be a scene when Andrew is pushed to his limits by Fletcher, and isn't discouraged. This happens in the last scene. As I mentioned, this is a bit of a picky point as the foreshadowing itself was effective.
I was very impressed with this film and think it deserves it's Oscar recognition and acclaim. For a low budget film it exceeds expectations and outdoes itself. One of my favourite films of the last few years and I recommend it to everyone.