I kept seeing references to this movie in this forum, and elsewhere… so I watched it - it really deserves the good reviews it got (Trailer below). That poor kid!! I mean, it can be nice having a hard ass for an instructor sometimes, to push you a little, but dang, that guy takes it to another level!
Good thing Josh isn’t that type of music teacher - B2B would have been a very different experience! I’d probably have had a few virtual chairs thrown at me for not keeping tempo
Haha! Yeah, the Fletcher character is likely pretty exaggerated - I don’t think someone that extreme would last very long in academia, or, really anywhere. There are probably numerous technical elements that aren’t accurate either in the movie. But the drill sergeant-like antagonist teacher does make for some good drama!
I reallllly loved this movie.
I had a teacher who had some serious Fletcher tendencies in college. I had the bass taken away from me at one point because I was playing a jazz ballad so atrociously, my prof. couldn’t stand it. Just took it from me and played the rest of the tune.
He was rough in private lessons as well.
Nothing super drill-sergeant-insults or in your face yelling… but some seriously challenging moments through college.
I love the “good job” speech in the movie. I agree with that sentiment so strongly. Still - how do you apply it? How does the challenge to be great and not compliment mediocrity manifest?
That’s the challenge and mark of a great teacher.
I agree, and did like that aspect of Fletcher. How do you compliment someone and simultaneously let them know they missed the mark?
When my kids were growing up, I would say things like “Good effort, but we both know you can do better”. Whether it was in sports, at school, or whatever. It’s a nice way of commending them for putting forth the effort, while letting them know they’re not yet where they need to be.
Finally got the DVD off my Netflix queue and watched it last night . . .
I got really mixed feelings about this movie . . . not sure whether I really liked it or not, but gave it 3 out of 5 stars. The acting was very intense and really struck a nerve with me.
I can’t stand egotistical, arrogant bullies who think their sh*t doesn’t smell, and it bothered me to see how the protagonist drummer left his woman in the dust to fawn all over the tyrannical professor, so it was difficult for me to “like” any of the characters. I suppose the film just illustrates the destructive results of creative passion and competition to rise above all and everyone else?
Nonetheless, if I were in Nieman’s shoes and someone like Fletcher humiliated, abused, and threw a chair at my head . . . well, I’d know where I’d put my drumsticks
@Jazzbass19 you are right, there are no real heros in this movie. There’s a passel of unlikable characters, and scant few likable ones. I too felt sad that he ditched that nice girl to pursue a spot in the cold, black heart of that tyrant. It was an interesting movie, albeit a bit disturbing.
Interesting that both you and @PamPurrs had such a person-centric, empathetic response to the movie. You must be nice people.
Still.
The “Good Job” scene.
That’s the heart of it all for me.
Lol, yeah, I feel that - I’ve found bass playing to be a unique kinesthetic challenge, along with developing that internal sense of rhythm, and being able to hit the note right where it needs to be each and every time. I feel like I rush or drag a lot, but, luckily, I don’t have a Fletcher hovering over me to artfully point it out