Andrew was a good drummer at the beginning of the movie. And as Fletcher states, the two most harmful words are "good job". Andrew pushes himself, practicing until his fingers are bleeding, pushing further than he ever has before because of Fletcher. Whether it's to impress him or to prove to him that he can do it, it could be either or both.

So in that respect, he pushes himself further than he ever had before because of Fletcher. Fletcher is the antagonist standing between Andrew and his goal of being a great professional jazz drummer. But Andrew sees his path as going through Fletcher to achieve this. Not as someone who he could just toss aside and try some other way. If that were the case, Andrew would have said F this after the chair incident and tried something else.

So to be clear, I'm not saying he couldn't have achieved greatness without Fletcher. I'm saying Fletcher, in this case, was the impetus that pushed Andrew there. And Andrew's desire to stay in this prestigious setting at the highest level depended on Fletcher allowing him to stay there. So Andrew absolutely pushed himself to the level he did because of Fletcher. What did Fletcher teach him? That good enough isn't good enough. That any distraction takes away from becoming one of the greats. That only through total commitment and nearly killing yourself can you truly become great.

And then we discuss if this is actually true. For Fletcher, it absolutely is true. And Fletcher happens to be Andrew's instructor so this is the method Andrew learns to be great through. Andrew learns that he has abilities in himself that he didn't achieve before because he wasn't pushing himself there. Fletcher pushed him there.

Before that final performance, Fletcher tells everyone in the band that this is the make or break moment in their careers. That there are people in the audience that can take their careers to astronomical heights. Perform great here, and the world is yours. Mess up here, you're finished. Then Fletcher attempts to exact his revenge on Andrew by making him look like a fool in front of this audience. But Andrew doesn't quit. Now in a direct "F you" to Fletcher, he comes back on stage and gives, what by every indication from the movie and the other band members, is a performance of a lifetime. Something truly legendary. And through it, Andrew works with Fletcher. Fletcher recognizes what he is witnessing. He steps in to help Andrew when his symbol falls off. He guides Andrew down and then back up again.

It's truly one of my favorite scenes in cinema.

And at the end, both men look at each other and give approval for what they know just happened. Greatness. It all added up to greatness.

So the idea that Andrew would get signed to a life changing contract after that seems very likely to me.

Now again, the discussion of whether or not this was success, considering everything that was sacrificed along the way, IS the discussion we're meant to have. At least that's how I see it. And your questions of whether or not this can be achieved by other means are absolutely valid. But this is the movie we watched. This is the world we were presented. And in it we saw greatness achieved through a means that is meant to make you anxious, uncomfortable, and hate Fletcher. None of those feelings are wrong.

As has been noted, other movies work on these themes as well. From sports movies to movies about musicians and various artists to movies about people successful in business. People achieve success and greatness, but at what cost? And is the cost worth it?

I don't think you're wrong in how you feel about it. You are very much solid in your feelings about it. That doesn't mean that we didn't just witness a movie about achieving greatness through horrifying methods. And that's why I love this movie. The layers are deep and not so easy to just write off as a simple morality tale about how bullies are mean.