Whiplash

Andrew Neiman is a 19-year-old jazz drummer who gains entry into New York's elite music conservatory. There, he faces Terence Fletcher, the institution's most ruthless and brilliant instructor, who pushes his students to the limit of physical and psychological endurance. Damien Chazelle directed one of the most visceral films about artistic ambition in recent cinema at the age of 29, with Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons in a clash of opposing forces that leaves you breathless.

Whiplash makes jazz music as urgent as a thriller. J.K. Simmons won the Oscar for his portrayal of Fletcher, one of the most unsettling characters in modern cinema. The finale is a crescendo that few films dare to attempt.