A Review Of The Movie "Mr. Holland's Opus"

Mr. Holland’s Opus was a sensational, unforgettable movie. By the end of the movie I felt uplifted, although the movie was an emotional rollercoaster. Mr. Holland’s Opus reminded me of one of my favourite movies, Dead Poets Society. Both movies give us the story of one inspirational teacher who encourages others to see things differently, to tap their potential and seize the opportunities presented to them, only to come directly into conflict with more conservative forces. This movie has made a huge impact on my life, I don’t believe I can go back to the person I was before. The moral of the film is to live with a purpose and to accept the fact that life might not turn out as planned. However, I believe that the message of the film could also be reconciliation.

Mr. Holland improves the lives of five very different students. He goes beyond his call of duty and reaches out to them. One very touching moment involved Gertrude Lang, a very motivated but basically untalented student. She couldn’t get the hang of playing the clarinet without tensing up and making errors. Thus, Mr. Holland spent extra time with her before school, and in trying to help her calm down, he asked her what she likes most about herself when she looks in the mirror. Gertrude’s replied with her red hair, which her father says is the color of a sunset. Mr. Holland then suggested that she put away her sheet music, close her eyes and “play the sunset”. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to just be able to put away the instructions for how to play our song and simply play the sunset or the sunrise? What if we could tap into our natural talents and allow them to play us? I don’t think I have enough courage to trust that what emerges will be beautiful and beneficial to all who hear it. I am terrified when it comes to public speaking. I believe that the only way to present well is to have cue cards in front of myself and to read word for word what is on my page. I don’t enjoy improvisation. Imagine how much easier my life would be if I could think about that sunset and instantly be able to speak well in front of a crowd of people.

Another reason why I enjoyed this movie was because the film marked the passing decades with authentic newsreels embracing each era’s major political events, those most impactful included the Vietnam war, Nixon’s resignation and John Lennon’s assassination. Additionally, during the newsreels, relevant songs were playing in the background from The Kingsmen to Jackson Browne. Music is the third most important thing to me in life outside of my family and my friends. I grew up listening to artists that you might expect only a middle-aged man to be listening to: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, that’s just naming a few. Music helped me through some of the hardest moments in my life. The film, rather tiresomely, switches back and forth between Holland’s school and family life. At home, Holland has to accept the sad, yet somewhat ironic truth that his only son, Cole, is deaf. I was devastated to hear this, and clearly so was Mr. Holland. Holland so desperately wants to share his passion for music with his son. He does not deal well with the news that his son is deaf, and that he would never enjoy music in the same way. It seemed as though he wanted nothing to do with Cole from this point onward. I was agitated by this. Is his reason for neglecting his son that he wanted his son to be just like him, with music as his lifelong passion? Holland seemed to give everyone else a chance but his own son. How can someone know how to positively impact the lives of so many children and not know what to do with their own child? The only relatively reasonable explanation for this could be that he didn’t know how to communicate with someone so unlike himself.

All I can say is that he was losing focus on what was important and what he should be doing as a father. The late John Lennon wrote the lyric, "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans. " No film in recent memory has illustrated that truth with more warmth and wit than the genuinely uplifting Mr. Holland’s Opus. Yet another scene in the movie that brought me to tears was when John Lennon died and Mr. Holland assumed Cole wouldn’t understand what music meant to his father. Cole lashed out and revealed that he does appreciate and understand music but needs his father to reach out to him: “You think I don't care about what it is that you do, or what you love? You're my father. I know what music is. You could help me to know it better, but no. You care more about teaching other people than you do about me. ” This broke my heart, as did every moment showing Holland and Cole’s father-son relationship, but fortunately this incident encouraged Mr. Holland to find different ways for Cole and other deaf children to understand music. I like how John Lennon’s death was tied in with Mr. Holland reconciling with his son and finally understanding him. Holland offers to give a concert at the private school his son attends. As a panel of colored lights enabled the deaf students to follow the music, he serenaded Cole with an emotional rendition of John Lennon's song “Beautiful Boy. ” It wasn’t until this moment, even being the music nerd that I am, that I had actually listened to the lyrics of the lovely song Lennon had written for his son, Sean. The song’s upsetting lyrics tore me into pieces much like the lyrics of “Cat’s Cradle. ” Both song show absolutely devastating father-son relationships. However, after singing this heart-wrenching song, Holland and Cole’s relationship had finally taken a turn in the right direction.

At the end of the movie, he was given a surprise goodbye celebration and was asked to play his opus, “The American Symphony by Glenn Holland”. It was here, Mr. Holland learned that he was not a failure, nor was he expendable, and that the symphony he thought he failed to complete was actually composed of those he inspired. They were his symphony. It was absolutely beautiful. The movie could not have ended in a better place.