J.K. Simmons' finest hour

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2015)

How far would you push yourself in order to be the best at something?
Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is willing to isolate himself from his loved ones and the rest of the world in order to be the finest drummer at Shafer Conservatory of Music. When he is hand-picked by the highly respected Terrence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), Andrew has no idea how far Fletcher is willing to push him to get the results he wants.
Teller as Andrew is an insecure, awkward college determined to do his best. He is inept at talking to the cute girl who runs the movie theater concession stand till he begins to gain confidence after joining Shafer's jazz orchestra. His drive to be the best drummer since Buddy Rich causes him to become an increasingly isolated individual who cuts off all who love him to meet Fletcher' demands and attempt to gain his approval. However there is no real character development by the writer-director or Teller as an actor, Teller stays primarily stagnant until the final ten to fifteen minutes of the film where Andrew has his grandiose drum solo.
The cream of the film truly belongs to J.K. Simmons's unbalanced, cruel and profane Fletcher. Simmons is usually the more fatherly or counselor-type in most of his film and TV appearances, but that is appropriately missing from this film. Cussing out at anyone he pleases and working his students to exhaustion, Fletcher is never placated with what Andrew or anyone else gives him. Garnering his first Oscar nomination, Simmons will bring home the gold for certain.
The music is primarily jazz which is appropriate for the band, practice and café scenes of the film, but is unnecessary for the rest of the film. Cinematography spends most of its time up above the cast members except for more intimate dialogue. The script is pretty solid, but could've done without the girlfriend for Teller's character as she has only ten minutes of screen-time.