We can never truly know what life will bring us.  This is a more serious version of the old cliché that we plan and God laughs.  We follow what we think is the best path, but it can take us in unexpected directions.  Those who thrive are the ones who are able to be open to those changes God puts in our way.  I am rapidly approaching middle age, but whatever that accounts for in regards to wisdom, it seems to me that those who do not try to make the best of it are the ones who become the most embittered.  Whether this means giving up on a dream for the expediency of a moment, or never dreaming at all, God always has good in mind for you.  Fighting against this notion is what gets people in trouble.  You will see echoes of this as I describe Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995).  If you have not seen it already, then I hope you will be as touched by it as I was.

The only person feeling touched at the outset of Mr. Holland’s Opus is Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss), as in touched in the head for taking a teaching position at the newly renamed John F. Kennedy High School.  It is 1965, and the young composer would rather be making music than trying to get teenagers to learn to play an instrument.  What him and his wife, photographer Iris Holland (Glenne Headly), do not have is money for him to pursue his passion.  Hence, they give themselves four years to make enough money for him to give a go at composing full time.  His first day on the job, and many thereafter, are as bad as predicted.  In addition to conducting the school’s concert band, he also is the instructor for a course on musical appreciation.  The kids in the band cannot carry a tune, and the ones in his regular class do not pay attention.  It has him simply showing up on time and leaving as soon as the final bell dismisses everyone, that is until a few things change.  The first is young clarinet player Gertrude Lang (Alicia Witt).  She comes from a long line of talented people in her family, and her inability to pick up the instrument has her thinking that she will never do anything impressive.  The other is the principal, Helen Jacobs (Olympia Dukakis), who tells Glenn that he is teaching his students nothing.  He protests, saying they are un-teachable, but she pushes back by positing that the problem is him.  Finally, Iris tells Glenn that she is pregnant.  He reacts with reservation, seeing any hope of composing evaporating.  Of course, this is not the response for which she is hoping, but he soon recognizes it as an opportunity to fall more in love with her.  To complete his commitment to her, he suggests that they use their savings to buy a house, hence putting down roots.  This also involves a reinvigoration of his efforts in the classroom.  Realizing the folly of expecting the youth to get Johann Sebastian Bach as he does, Glenn demonstrates how modern rock n’ roll takes its cues from classical sources.  While he is successful in reaching his students, Vice Principal Gene Wolters (William H. Macy) believes modern rock tunes are the songs of rebellion.  Gene tries to get Glenn fired, but Glenn makes an impassioned defense in front of Helen and he is allowed to continue.  There is one condition: the school does not have a marching band and they want Glenn to form it.  He is a talented individual, but getting his musicians to march in unison proves a bigger challenge than he can handle.  The person who comes to his help is Bill Meister (Jay Thomas), the football coach and physical education teacher.  He has a promising young wrestler, Louis Russ (Terrence Howard), who needs a course he can pass in order to go on to college.  In exchange for teaching Louis the bass drum, Bill will get Glenn’s new band to march properly.  Things are going well until the day Glenn’s new group parades through their Oregon town.  In the audience are Iris and their son, Coltrane “Cole” Holland, who is not yet a toddler.  Once dad passes, he is followed by a fire engine.  The emergency vehicle blares its horn at maximum volume, causing every reveler in the area to cover their ears.  Cole does not stir, asleep in his stroller.  Finding out that Cole is deaf is a blow for Glenn, who had visions of his son following in his musical footsteps.  Eventually, it also means special schooling for Cole, which further eats into their savings.  On top of these, Glenn is not thrilled by having to take extra courses to learn American sign language, further taking away his free time.  Given the increasing problems at home, he throws himself more into his role at the school, planning bigger productions and taking on extra duties.  This includes a George Gershwin inspired show, which Bill offers to help with in order to make money for the school and keep Glenn’s job.  It is threatened due to Helen’s retirement and Gene filling her position.  During the auditioning process, Glenn is introduced to senior Rowena Morgan (Jean Louisa Kelly), a virtuosa of a singer. Such is her talent that he encourages her to pursue singing instead of giving in to the demands of her family, who want her to stay in town and work in their restaurant.  The girl takes the advice to heart in more ways than one, developing an obvious attraction for her teacher.  Following the opening performance, she says that she is running away to New York and she wants him to come with her so he can continue to compose.  Instead, he meets her at the bus stop and gives her the number of an old bandmate of his who could help get her career started, before going home and telling Iris how much he loves his wife.  We then fast forward to 1995 and Glenn is finally informed that the school board is cutting his music program.  He fights, but their decision remains final.  On his last day, Iris and the grownup Cole (Anthony Natale) bring Glenn into the school auditorium.  Waiting for Glenn is the entire school and many former students of his, including the now governor of Oregon, Gertrude (Joanna Gleason).  Those who can play form an orchestra and perform the piece he has been working on for the past thirty years.

We should all be so lucky to have a sendoff like Mr. Holland’s Opus, the result of all the lives Glenn has touched over his career.  God gave him talent and he made the most of it.  To his students, I am sure he appeared god-like.  That seems to be the case with Rowena, though I am happy to report he practiced some self-control in that moment.  At the same time, he is intensely human.  One of the innumerable things that make us different from God is that we have an inability to recognize a wider context.  As Glenn lives his life, though he falls in love with teaching, embracing the path God gave him and letting go of the one he wanted, he experiences events that make it difficult for him to see that context.  The first is Cole’s deafness.  Next comes Louis dying while fighting in the Vietnam War.  There are also threats to his job and the situation with Rowena.  When he is finally forced to step down from his position at the school, he tells Bill that it has all been a waste.  Then God goes and shows him that how wrong he is with the assembly in the auditorium.  What should be emphasized, again, is that Glenn has shown a willingness to give up his will for the sake of others.  As usual, God is not mentioned in the story, although he does suggest early on that he had received a Catholic education.  Nonetheless, his willingness to give to his family, his friends, and his students is a signal of his virtue and what I would call true Christian behavior.  At the same time, because he is human, he has a hard time seeing the positivity he has put into the world.  Part of this can be blamed on his long worked-on orchestral piece, which is played at the end, but a bigger reason is losing his job.  Yet, as Faith teaches, God cares more about the good you do than your employment status.

Frankly, I am surprised that I had acted so carelessly in not seeing Mr. Holland’s Opus sooner.  It was personal for me, reminding me of my own days trying to get young adults to care about history.  I left to pursue my dreams, but I did not have a family like Glenn.  I was given an opportunity to do so, and if you are given one to see this movie, do it.