Under the director of a prestigious but borderline abusive instructor, a young college student begins to lose his humanity in his quest to become the core drummer of the top jazz orchestra in the country.

Firstly, the wording of this logline is teeth-achingly clunky.

Secondly, it’s a hugely improbable stretch to believe that one’s humanity could be lost just by being an instrument player for any orchestra. (In “Black Swan” the sheer physical demands of being a premier ballerina made loss of humanity a credible possibility. But not here.)

Fundamentally, the dynamic of ‘bad ass’ instructor and young trainee can certainly work. But not in this setting. A better setting would be either military training or medical school. Or, perhaps, some kind of cutting edge and risky scientific research.

Steven Fernandez (Judge)