Highly Entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2019)

I haven't read all 1000 reviews, but of those I have read not one of them mentioned the soundtrack for this engrossing film.
That's a pity because I think the music holds a key part in the story. I didn't catch from the credits who was playing all the band pieces but they were a top notch band. I would have liked to have heard a couple more charts from them. However, I am a rehabilitated trombonist and it's been years since I played, but it was clear to me that the close ups were of people who weren't actually playing the music that was on the soundtrack. But you know what? I was willing to suspend my disbelief because the story was so gripping.
J. K. Simmons was absolutely a terror, and I would love to see him try to sell State Farm insurance in character as Terence Fletcher. Just kidding! While Fletcher was an extreme caricature of a driven perfectionist, I had a band teacher in junior high who would throw small objects and yell at players he thought were lazy or not concentrating. I bought Fletcher's behavior, and I don't know how many of his stories about Bird were true, but I do know that Parker (and Miles and other greats) practiced their instruments for hours a day, every day. One of my favorites, Don Lanphere, was still practicing his scales two hours a day into his 70's, so Fletcher's message about what it takes to achieve greatness wasn't that far off track.
I think most people, even experienced musicians, will be enthralled by this movie because of the performances of the main actors, the story, the interaction between characters (I felt Andrew and his father's relationship - played by Paul Reiser - was touching) and the tremendous soundtrack.
While Fletcher's methods could be (and were) questionable, his objective was not and most people, including me, have no idea what it really takes to be one of the greats. Prodigies like Mozart are so very rare, that nearly all greats got where they are by embellishing some natural talent through dedicated and disciplined hard work. This move portrays that in a thoroughly entertaining and sometimes shocking way.
Highly Recommended.