This movie was so much more than I expected, even though it has such fantastic reviews. When a movie closely entails something in which I'm not interested, but I enjoy it anyhow, it has to be good. For example: Breaking Away. I'm not a bicycling fan, and bicycle racing is the backstory of the movie, but it's one of my favorites. Same goes for "Rudy" and football. Same goes for "Hoosiers" and basketball.
I'll avoid giving away any spoilers here. The backdrop of this movie is a young man who has enrolled at a top national music conservatory as a jazz drummer. Normally I'd be saying "Next!" at this point. But it is the personalities of the characters that hooked me in - quickly - and I even enjoyed some of the music that was played in musical scenes though I've never been into jazz. I don't know where they got people who were both so gifted at playing their instruments and were also really, really talented actors - but they did. This adds a huge level of credibility to the movie and to the characters themselves.
The instructor (?) played by J. K. Simmons was someone with a personality that was all over the map. We have all known people like that - one minute friendly or at least cordial, and the next minute mean and nasty. That is not the whole plot but it is an ingredient. And Miles Teller, the jazz drummer student, has the ability to react very convincingly in his role to everything that the instructor puts him through. Near the end of the movie there is a huge plot twist... followed by another... and yet another. The movie ends up leaving us with a good feeling but boy you're gonna go through plenty to get there.
Someone in the Reviews here called it a 'modern day masterpiece.' I totally agree. And it's an example of a film that is carried by top notch acting and writing, not sex or special effects. This is a really, really good film and I strongly urge you to watch it when you get the chance. It may become one of your very favorites, too.
I'll avoid giving away any spoilers here. The backdrop of this movie is a young man who has enrolled at a top national music conservatory as a jazz drummer. Normally I'd be saying "Next!" at this point. But it is the personalities of the characters that hooked me in - quickly - and I even enjoyed some of the music that was played in musical scenes though I've never been into jazz. I don't know where they got people who were both so gifted at playing their instruments and were also really, really talented actors - but they did. This adds a huge level of credibility to the movie and to the characters themselves.
The instructor (?) played by J. K. Simmons was someone with a personality that was all over the map. We have all known people like that - one minute friendly or at least cordial, and the next minute mean and nasty. That is not the whole plot but it is an ingredient. And Miles Teller, the jazz drummer student, has the ability to react very convincingly in his role to everything that the instructor puts him through. Near the end of the movie there is a huge plot twist... followed by another... and yet another. The movie ends up leaving us with a good feeling but boy you're gonna go through plenty to get there.
Someone in the Reviews here called it a 'modern day masterpiece.' I totally agree. And it's an example of a film that is carried by top notch acting and writing, not sex or special effects. This is a really, really good film and I strongly urge you to watch it when you get the chance. It may become one of your very favorites, too.