15 Great Movie Villains Who Totally Stole The Show
11. Terence Fletcher - Whiplash
The most recent entry in the list but certainly one of the most intensely antagonistic performances in the past few years, J. K. Simmons sadistic jazz conductor Terence Fletcher is a man you don't want to disappoint.
When Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is invited to fill in as the drummer for Fletcher's studio band, he considers it an honour. That is until his tempo falters and he is subjected to slaps, thrown chairs and verbal abuse. Instigating conflict between students and acting like a tyrannical lunatic, whenever Fletcher roars into shot its impossible to look away.
Despite his thorough unpleasantness there's something darkly compelling about this man who drives young musicians to greatness with the same malice and ferocity Russia employs to train its elite Spetsnaz units. The central ethos to which Fletcher abides when making youngsters weep into their tubas is that, there are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job. It seems that his arch-nemesis is positive reinforcement and he battles against this concept so hard that he even drives one of his students to suicide. That's some serious musical criticism right there.
Neiman's defeat of Fletcher at the very end of the film is one its most interesting moments in that it's ridiculous. The protagonist wins by gaining the begrudging respect of the person who has taught him to be better at drumming by being super good at drumming. I'd call that a job well done by Fletcher.
All things considered, he managed to nurture and unleash a young prodigys greatness through a healthy regimen of physical and psychological torture.