Whiplash (2014)
This darkly intense drama reminded me of a quip by a Stanford professor, made only partly tongue in cheek, that "behind every great man lies a trail of human wreckage." How high of a personal price should one pay in order to achieve professional success? Does Steve Jobs' success at Apple absolve him from being a jerk? That's the dilemma in this movie. An ambitious young drummer named Andrew is a first year student at the best conservatory in the nation. He longs for greatness. He bloodies his hands in practice and dumps his girl friend as a distraction. The conservatory is run by a horribly abusive director who believes that easy compliments like "good job" short-circuit true greatness. He's a foul-mouthed tyrant who throws chairs and screams at his students. What should Andrew do?