Praise, what child does not want to hear it for something they did? From sliding down the big boys’ and girls’ slide to showing off their finished crayon coloring of their family’s house; giving approval is a vital element in a child’s development. Having recently been at a playground with two 4 year olds, I could see how my approving comments encouraged them to explore and figure out how to play with the assorted activities that were laid out around them. Praise from one’s family goes only so far as we grow up. Once children are of school age, one hopes they have teachers who can encourage and support any gifts or talents they see within their students. In my schooling the teachers I had went from one extreme to the other in regards to offering praise and encouragement. From starting out with a 7th grade teacher who told me I would amount to nothing if I continued believing I could be a writer to a college professor who pushed me to produce a written story for class each week; I can tell you with certainty that encouragement gave me the confidence I was lacking for so many years prior.    PERFECTION was expected from each student in music instructor Fletcher’s, played by J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man franchise, The Closer-TV), jazz orchestra. All Andrew, played by Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now, Divergent), ever dreamed of was to be one of the great drummers of his time. His hopes jumped up after a chance meeting when Fletcher walked into the school’s practice room where Andrew was drumming. As high as Andrew’s hopes soared, they came crashing down around him on his first day practicing with the orchestra; Fletcher would not want it any other way. As intense as I found the movie Fury to be, this film festival winner had a similar type of intensity in it own way. First of all the acting was simply brilliant by J.K. and Miles; their scenes together were filled with deep, dark, raw emotion. All I will say is I felt their pain. The biggest surprise for me had to do with the writer and director Damien Chazelle (Grand Piano, The Last Exorcism Part II). Based on his film credits I would never have imagined he could create such an amazing piece of work here. Watching this musical drama was like doing a mini marathon; a constant pace filled with brief rest stops and continuous challenges. For me the terrific soundtrack was an added bonus that finished off this film perfectly. By the end of the movie I knew this would be an Oscar contender at next year’s Academy Awards.

4 stars