It's genuinely disheartening to see so many people – even those who claim to be experts – giving this film such high marks. I didn’t leave during the showing, though I seriously considered it, but I did stick around until the end. It was a complete waste of my time. Here’s something that might ruin it for you, if you buy into what's being said about it: it could have potentially been decent if it hadn't been so unbelievably absurd. Maybe things would have turned out differently if it had taken place in the 1940s or 50s when people weren’t as aware of human rights? But even then... I guess the point we’re supposed to take away is… if you can’t manipulate your students through harsh treatment to make them exceptional musicians, it's acceptable to get rid of them or destroy them in the process. This overbearing and cruel character can barely manage music beyond a beginner level, so he 'teaches?' because he himself can’t ‘do’ it? He doesn’t teach, and he certainly doesn’t inspire; instead, he denies approval, uses negative reinforcement, and rules through intimidation, and is feared rather than respected. I struggle to identify even one scene that has any educational value or is worth watching for anything at all. Perhaps its widespread popularity just proves we're living in the last days... ha! Watch it if you feel like being trendy, but form your own opinion after seeing it and don’t believe what they say about its ‘genius’ or ‘brilliance.’ It isn't either of those things; it’s a badly written, sad joke. I suspect people who rate it highly A) want to appear sophisticated because 'it involves jazz,' B) have never experienced the dynamic between a teacher and student and can only guess what it’s like, C) see all the positive reviews and feel compelled to agree with them, D) lack basic knowledge or E) believed the actor had genuinely matured since his earlier work, where he mostly just shouted, but here he throws chairs... or F) possibly all of the above. Spend your money on something enjoyable instead of this nonsense.

Source on TMDB