Blind ambition drives the tension of this student-mentor relationship underscored by powerful performances

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2015)

Right from the first scene you feel the tension that develops between a young student entering a top music school in New York and his teacher who stops at nothing to push his students beyond their limits.
Andrew is a talented 19-year old drummer with a drive to be the best in the world. Fletcher is jazz music teacher whose teaching style is geared towards finding the next great jazz performer. He will stop at nothing - his methods use a brutal manipulation, put-downs with the most refined language, emotional and physical abuse and a total disregard for any common decency.
Andrew's ambition takes over his whole life as he drives all of his friends and colleagues away from himself in the blind pursuit of his dream. Only his father remains by his side as his constant support. Fletcher never doubts that he has a right to push his students by any means. His arrogance has no end. Just as you hope that maybe there is a human being behind the cruel persona, he proves you wrong again. To him, the worst two words in English language are "good job" as they are only for those who aspire to mediocrity. He wants his students to aspire to nothing but greatness.
An emotional drama builds up and never lets go. Who will break first? The balance between the teacher and the student shifted several times and stayed unpredictable till the end. The drumming and jazz music was telling the story alongside the excellent performances of Miles Teller and J K Simmons.
Achieving greatness has a cost and this film lets you think about the balance between the two.
I give it 8 out of 10.