MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS

CAPSULE REVIEW –– This is one of those feel-good movies that grabs hold of your heart from the first frame and relentlessly refuses to let go...which is not always a good thing. I like to cry at the end of a movie as much as the next gal, but I don't like to be highly manipulated to get there. This is a simple story about a man who had greater musical dreams but was forced to settle on being a music teacher in order to support his family. The film spans several decades of his life, focusing on his struggle to impart his love of music to his students while dealing with a career he will most likely never achieve. There are several obvious plot twists – one dealing with his son and the other with a pretty, young student – that really dumb down the quality of this story. I guess the filmmaker's thought his inner struggle wasn't strong enough to carry the whole film. I disagree. Here Mr. Holland is forced to make a choice that in the end enriches his life more than he could have dreamed, even though it's not what he initially wanted for himself. A powerful message about life more of us should take not of. It's also a wonderful message about the importance of teachers. I'm not sure Dreyfuss deserved a Best Actor nomination for his performance, but it certainly is the only thing that keeps this film afloat. Enjoyable, if a tad overly sentimental.