December 29, 2014 -- In a world of underachievers, this is a movie about the single-minded pursuit of excellence at all costs, to the exclusion of all else in life. This kind of striving for perfection is a wonderful, awful, exhilarating, frightening, stimulating, depressing and all-consuming obsession. This obsession is shared by two men in this story who end up hating each other because of everything this passion has given them and cost them.

Andrew Neiman (played by Miles Teller of “Divergent”) is a first-year student at the top musical conservatory in the nation. His ambition is to be a drummer like the great Buddy Rich, a man whose name will live forever among lovers of music. He listens to Rich and the other greats, and strives to find the upper limits of his abilities.

Practicing alone, Andrew is spotted by the top jazz instructor at the conservatory, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons of “Juno”) and invited to be an alternate drummer in the school's top jazz band. Fletcher is a foul-mouthed bully of an instructor, with a mercurial temper and a genius for emotional manipulation of his students. He curses at them, gets in their faces, insults them, hits them and does everything but praise them.

Before Andrew joins the band, Fletcher asks him questions about his family in a friendly way and tells him to “have fun” playing. Little does Andrew know at the time that Fletcher plans to use the information he learns about his family to emotionally manipulate him. He uses this information to insult Andrew in front of the class. Fletcher pushes Andrew relentlessly to be a better drummer, using psychological manipulation.

Through an unusual set of circumstances, Andrew becomes the lead drummer in the band. He thinks he's got it made until Fletcher recruits another drummer to replace him. At one point Fletcher pits Andrew against two other drummers in a grueling session that lasts for hours as all three try to win the coveted lead drummer position. Fletcher says the drummer must “earn” the job by drumming to his very discriminating satisfaction.

Fletcher seems determined to push Andrew to the breaking point, but Andrew won't back down and the two men start to battle each other. Inevitably, there is a massive blow up between these two. This leads to a brief interlude where Andrew takes stock of himself and comes to think he has gotten his priorities wrong. Then, there is the final climax where Fletcher and Andrew face off again. This is one of the most electrifying scenes I've ever seen in any film.

There is a lot more to this film, including Andrew's interactions with his family and his girlfriend. There is also some humor in the film, too. It is not just about the two main characters. One thing that is definitely overdone in the movie is the bleeding. Andrew's hands repeatedly bleed from drumming hard and fast.

I did some research to see if this depiction is realistic, because it didn't seem reasonable. It turns out this is not realistic. It is simply being done for dramatic effect. “Whiplash,” by the way, is the name of a difficult, fast-paced jazz composition in the film (it was composed by Hank Levy, who became a music instructor who formed an award-winning Jazz Ensemble at Towson State University).

One of the many things that impressed me about this film is the editing by Tom Cross (“Crazy Heart”). There are some scenes in the film, including the final confrontation mentioned above, where Cross edits the film in such a way as to match the rapid pace of the music being played. The effect of this is exhilarating.

Cinematographer Sharone Meir's work is also excellent in this film, especially in close-up work on the drummer and the drums and cymbals. Writer-director Damien Chazelle has created a masterpiece, aided by superb acting by J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller. This film rates an A.

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