Simplistic, Predictable... Well Acted, Good Music

Rating: 1/10 (30 March 2015)

It's not as boring as 50 Shades of Grey, but it's just about as simplistic. There are two characters, plus a couple of others are hinted (at with several seconds of screen time).
I loved the music. The acting was good, but the roles were not especially nuanced.
The main problem is that within the first couple of minutes of the film, you know Andrew's goal: to be an elite drummer. Great. You also realize that his instructor is complete jerk (or worse) and is going to "challenge" Andrew. So, for the rest of the movie, all we have to wonder about is whether he'll end up overcoming the challenge and being a good drummer, or whether he'll give up.
It kept my attention, but I would never watch this movie a second time. There just wasn't enough substance to it. There was no nuance. There was nothing more to think about.
The pseudo-philosophical, pop-psychological discussion in the movie about whether abusive treatment by a teacher is justifiable by the potential for producing greatness are just pathetic and empty.
There are some shades of side-story. There's a paper-thin character of a girlfriend. She only exists to make us believe that Andrew might be giving something up by pursuing his goal, but since Andrew isn't likable at all, I didn't really care if he ended up with her.
Anyway, the movie wasn't really a 1 star... I give it a solid 6.5, but since it's been voted so high here on IMDb, I'm just trying to bring it down into the realm of reality.