Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995)
Dreyfuss’s last great role would come four years later in Stephen Herek’s light drama. Dreyfuss was Oscar nominated for his portrayal of Glenn Holland, a composer forced to compromise his dreams of making music in order to make a living, as a music teacher.
Dreyfuss has excelled at playing characters with great passion or obsession for a subject, and his Mr. Holland is no exception. You can see his love for composing, as well as his great frustration as his teaching obligations take precious time away from his music writing. Dreyfuss shows perfectly Holland’s spirit slowly being sapped away, and his conflicted feelings when wife Iris reveals she is pregnant. As Holland starts to come to terms with his new life, and uses his passion for music to break through to his pupils, Dreyfuss slowly and delicately shows Holland coming through his sadness to happiness on the other side, coming to love his new life.
The story at the core of Mr. Holland’s Opus isn’t the most original, but Dreyfuss brings the story to life, his deft handling of a character whose priorities aren’t necessarily in the right order perfectly balanced. Some of Mr. Holland’s actions aren’t likeable, but Dreyfuss keeps the character sympathetic throughout.
