Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) wants to be a great composer, and takes a high school teaching job that he expects will give him some free time to work on his music. What he thinks will be a temporary position, ends up being a 30 year adventure in teaching and inspiring his students and attempting to bond with and understand his deaf son Cole.
This is a classic feel-good movie. We see Mr. Holland's career from the 1960s to the 90s, and how his attitude about his work grows and changes with each life that he touches. We see the once-terrible student orchestra blossom under his instruction. We see the insecure girl become confident and use that confidence to propel her life far beyond the music classroom. We see him struggling to identify at all with his son, and eventually we see him reach out the only way he knows how: through music. As a music-lover myself, I absolutely love how the film establishes how music can be more than just an interest; it can be a way of viewing the world.
With standout performances from Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly as his wife Iris, and William H. Macy as the uptight vice-principal Gene Walters, this film is a must-see for teacher, music-lovers, whoever. Yes, it's emotional (bordering on sappy) and sure, maybe teachers don't typically see the results of their life's work laid out in front of them in such a grandiose fashion, but this is a movie! And a very good one at that.
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