Right off the bat, you'll want to know this isn't a typical Hollywood story. The writer must have skipped day one of Screen writing 101, as he forgot to include a likable main character. From the first moment the teacher is introduced, you'll quickly develop zero sympathy for him. Less than zero, perhaps. He is, after all, the antagonist. So far, so good.

In my ignorant and ill-informed opinion, the main problem with the movie is the student's character. We've already got a clearly defined villain, so how about somebody to root for? He seems to start out that way, but slowly he morphs into a borderline bad guy, as if under the spell of his mentor. After a while, one's only interest in the student is to hope for him to break free of his psychotic teacher.

A day after seeing this movie, it's hard to believe it was nominated for an Oscar. From a technical standpoint, it was well made and featured good acting, but the story itself was somewhat off-putting. I'm a big fan of J. K. Simmons, but his character was so abrasive, I actually started looking forward to the scenes without him. Maybe it was the screenwriter's intent to make us feel uncomfortable. If so, he succeeded. Sadly, though, I can't say my life is any richer having seen this.