Mr. Holland's Opus (4 Stars)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I bought this film because it was highly recommended by a friend. It wasn't her recommendation alone. The majority of reviews I read online were positive, and Richard Dreyfuss was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this film.

A young man, Glenn Holland, becomes a high school music teacher in 1964. Not out of enthusiasm for teaching, merely because he didn't have anything else. "I'm nervous. Boy, I never thought I'd be here. Like most people I only got my teaching certificate so I'd have something to fall back on. And now I have." At first he's totally disillusioned because the children have no interest in what he teaches them about classical music. He only begins to have success when he shows them that rock'n'roll has musical structures in common with Beethoven. But still it's a daily fight to inspire the children.

At home all is not well. Glenn has a son who he hopes will become a great composer. He names him Coltrane Gershwin Holland, though he nicknames him Cole. But Cole is deaf, which alienates Glenn. He largely ignores him and doesn't even succeed in learning sign language to communicate with him. He puts other children ahead of his own son. A recurring theme is Glenn's "opus", after which the film is named. Before joining the school he started to write a symphony which would make him famous, but as the years pass by he keeps changing it and adding to it, but it's never completed.

The story progresses in intervals up to 1980, punctuated by events in political and musical history. The Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, "Saturday Night Fever" and the Sex Pistols are mentioned in passing. The final big event is the murder of John Lennon, which is crucial in repairing the relationship with Cole.

From here we leap forward to 1995. Times have changed. Glenn has been a teacher for over 30 years. I won't say anything more to avoid spoilers.

I admit that for the first hour of the film I had difficulty watching it. It seemed erratic, meandering on aimlessly without any direction. I even considered turning it off. I'm glad I remained patient. As it continued it gained in emotional depth, and the seemingly random strands of plot were tied together, leading to a dramatic climax. This is a deeply moving film that I would recommend to anyone. Especially to teachers.

Click here to view the trailer.