A study in bullying and acceptance thereof: drummer's blood

Rating: 6/10 (23 October 2018)

Simmons may have picked up a supporting actor Oscar for this performance, and he may have deserved in comparison with the rest of competitors for that award in 2014, but it has to be said that he is a repulsive and manipulative bully and that his character is no example to anybody - quite the contrary. In fact, his eagerness to label others with derogatory and even insulting adjectives quickly becomes difficult to watch.
If that is what is required for the human being to exceed his limitations - be it in music, sport, art, or any other field - then this is out and out human rights violation and I would rather live with a bit more mediocrity.
Tellers tries his best in a difficult part, but the very ambiguity at the heart of his character's nature - in turns accepting and rejecting Simmons' bullying - detracts from the spectator's sympathy. His search for personal greatness as a drummer, at the expense of love and family, is a welcome warning to anyone thinking of following that path.
And then I have a real problem accepting that Charlie Parker was the "greatest musician of the 20th Century," as the central characters claim, and I do not care for the final rendition of "Caravan," a wonderful piece of music that the two of them (Simmons unwillingly at first, then encouragingly) turn into a near solo drummer show.
The unremittingly bleak photography and atmosphere; the characters' apparent failure to learn and become better human beings; and the director's emphasis on highlighting meanness and the absence of redemption with his chiaroscuro backgrounds, all made for an unpleasant movie experience for me.