Scary...disturbing....a master class in abusive behavior.....but an EXCELLENT film.

Rating: 10/10 (16 April 2018)

Well.....one thing's for sure - this movie clearly polarized the reviewers. Numerous 9 and 10 ratings, and a whole heap of 1 to 3 ratings. This alone shows we aren't dealing with an ordinary movie - it's exceptional.
As you can see, I'm with the 9 and 10 ratings - rarely have I seen a more though provoking and challenging movie. It's an essay in obsession and how those who are obsessed can and are exploited by others to fulfil their own needs. Definitely not pretty. Definitely not pleasant viewing. But a compelling examination of manipulation and ruthless behavior, and what it does to the victims.
Fascinatingly, a lot of the low-scoring reviews come from people who felt the movie didn't realistically portray what might actually happen in a top (music) school. Or that they felt the manipulation being dished out by the JK Simmons / Fletcher role was too repellent to be true. Seems it just made a lot of people very, very uncomfortable, and they watched behaviors they'd rather believe don't exist.
Two points to that. Firstly, the film is clearly allegorical - I agree that in this day and age it's unlikely that the sort of scenarios described would for a moment be tolerated in any decent, Western school. That said, we see around us in the papers every day a storm of evidence of where the powerful in positions of trust have done essentially what was portrayed in the film, and much worse to boot. So I for one believe that this film is a very valuable examination of the model that can exist where a trusted person in a position of power builds themselves up by tearing down, playing off and humiliating ruthlessly those left in their trust.
J K Simmons in my view stole the show. He convincingly created a role of pure evil. Initially he ingratiates himself with the vulnerable young Miles Teller / Andrew role. Naively Andrew believes he may have found a champion. Fairly quickly we see that Fletcher is in fact a very nasty piece of work who thrives in brutally playing off one member of the band against the other. His word is law, and anyone who even looks like challenging him is ruthlessly crushed. He's charming when he thinks it will benefit him (like many narcissists) but exists only to build his own ego at the expense of those around him. Ruthless, abusive, manipulative.....bullying isn't nearly strong enough - he's a psychopath.
Sadly - the kids he's dealing with are either too scared of him to react, or they are hoping that they may avoid his wrath and benefit from the "discipline" he exerts.
This film's message is so direct and powerful that I'd almost suggest it should be compulsory viewing for all kids in early youth. The "take away" would be....YES...people like this DO exist, and they will destroy anyone who lets a monster like this into their lives. So know what you are dealing with, and absolutely keep your distance.