Mr. Holland and his Opus. Review on Mr. Holland's Opus Movie

No life, however insignificant that it might seem to be, spent in worthy pursuit is wasted and in the Grand scheme of things, we are all making history and future at the same time through our deeds! This could essentially summarize this beautiful movie Mr. Holland's Opus.

This movie has touched me in many ways! It tells the story of a high school music teacher, Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) spanning more than three decades of his life. Glenn Holland joins as the new music teacher JFK High School in 1964 with a dream to teach for few years in a school while he pursues his passion to compose music or should I say Music. He has a very sweet, loving and supportive wife in Iris (Glenne Headly). But irony hits his life when they have a son and then teaching becomes more of a necessity to support his family and his composing takes back seat.

The movie is not too focused on how his life changes because of his family; it is more like a biography. The movie is about his love for music and how he shares this love affair with his students and teaches them to love it too. In this process he goes to every extent possible and resorts to even unconventional methods of teaching to introduce them to music and to feel it and to love it. When lectures and tests fail to generate interest, he switches to playing rock and roll records in the class which would be considered to be sacrilege in a conservative high school in 1970s. He tells his students ''playing music is supposed to be fun -- it's about heart... not notes on a page.''

In this journey he brings about change-of-heart in many people (including the principal) and touches many lives, needless to say, positively. Meanwhile, he also have to go through some moments of temptations with one of his students (Jean Louisa Kelly) who is beautiful very talented, like-minded and would probably help him realize his dreams.

The movie uses some good blends of pop tunes and rock and roll, to depict the period spanning the three decades of his career as a music teacher. Michael Kamen's scores along with other classical compositions make it a treat to ears. Richard Dreyfuss does a splendid job in the department of acting. His frustrations, his passion for music are very real and are things that we can easily relate to. His make-up artist probably had to really work hard to make him look thirty since he was probably forty eight when he acted in this movie. But he never looks thirty though! But his acting compensates for his lack of accurate looks. We find other commendable cast in Jay Thomas (as the coach at the school) and Olympia Dukakis (as the principal). Some other small characters played by Alicia Witt (as his student who cannot get a grip on playing the clarinet) and Jean Louisa Kelly (a student who tempts him) also leave a lasting impression on your mind.

I love this movie because it shares an important passion of my life – Music. And also because it conveys a strong message of the triumph of the human spirit resulting in the creation of something beautiful by using the biography of a seemingly insignificant person. A must-see movie for its performances and the story!

SOME MEMORABLE QUOTES :

Glenn Holland: Playing music is supposed to be fun. It's about heart, it's about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it's not about notes on a page. I can teach you notes on a page, I can't teach you that other stuff.

Gertrude Lang (Adult):Mr. Holland had a profound influence on my life and on a lot of lives I know. But I have a feeling that he considers a great part of his own life misspent. Rumor had it he was always working on this symphony of his. And this was going to make him famous, rich, probably both. But Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous, at least not outside of our little town. So it might be easy for him to think himself a failure. But he would be wrong, because I think that he's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. Look around you. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched, and each of us is a better person because of you. We are your symphony Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life.

TRIVIA :

Michael Kamen the music composer of this movie was so inspired by the movie that he went to found THE MR. HOLLAND’S OPUS FOUNDATION (MHOF) which supports music education and its many benefits through the donation and repair of musical instruments to under-served schools, community music programs and individual students nationwide.

SOME CASTS AND CREDITS :

Cast:Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Olympia Dukakis, Jay Thomas, Alicia Witt, Jean Louisa Kelly, Terrence Howard

Director:Stephen Herek

Producers:Robert W. Cort, Ted Field, and Michael Nolan

Screenplay:Patrick Duncan

© Roshan Thomas