Rowena Sequence

The Rowena scenes were not only crucial, but they were the best scenes in the entire movie. They ensured that this movie was not just good but great. The first response to your post by Gabby states exactly why these scenes were necessary in a much more eloquent manner than I would have presented, so I'll just leave it at that.

Gabby's interpretation is great and is presented in a clear and expressive manner, and I love how passionately you feel about this scene. If I could present one possible change in the purpose of this sequence.

While, yes, Rowena is supposed to be a temptation, a human representation of the exciting composing career Glenn wanted, I do not think that his career at this point in his life was totally trapped, wasted, or sub-par. True, he is now a middle America, middle-aged music teacher. However, I think he has come to enjoy his teaching and his students. We've already been presented with sequences that demonstrate he is invested in his students and music. Hell, even the review means something to him, as he reacted so strongly to it's potential removal due to budget cuts.

I think this is actually a stronger/more complex starting point for Rowena to enter, rather than him feeling his life is wasted or him expressing dissatisfaction with his career path. How much more tempting is it for an old dream or desire to come back into your life when you thought you had moved on, were over it, even starting a new life? That would even more dangerous/reckless of Mr. Holland, to leave something he had been working on and starting to enjoy for something more tempting.

True, there are scenes suggesting his home life was less than ideal, which probably conflates his passion and dedication to his teaching and school work, as a way to avoid that. But it wasn't all negative, and I think that's what makes it more realistic. In life, difficult choices aren't just movie level difficult, where there's an obvious right choice but the protagonist can't see it right away in order for the audience to "get it".

The Rowena subplot is there because it's giving Mr. Holland the opportunity to achieve his dream. Remember that he initially looked at teaching as a side-gig, something to do until he could find something better. That scene in the diner, where Rowena is talking about Mr. Holland coming to New York with her and becoming a famous composer, is the key to the subplot. It's meant to be a temptation for Mr. Holland, and to show that he's finally committed to being a teacher and parent.

Love your pen name, by the way, OP. I'm LDS as well :)

"You wanna be worshipped? Go to India and moo."

Rowena singing Someone to Watch Over Me in the revue is easily the best part of the movie. Not only does she do a great job with the song, but the subtext while she's singing the song is well done.

Something I never understood was why, when you're infatuated with one of your high school students and you're trying to hide it from your wife, would you name a piece of music you're working on after her? I mean, it didn't take a whole lot of for his wife to put it all together when she saw Rowena's name in the program.

Had he gone through with it, I don't think Rowena would've like Mr. Holland's old penis.

I don't even know your name or gender, but I can see you wanted the movie to be more focused on the family side.

In my POV, in the whole movie he neglects his family and focuses more on his job. See, this movie is about a man who failed on the career he chose and went a professor for financial needings. He doesn't like being a professor at begining, but he ends up liking to share his passion with his students.

For that to work, we're presented with a few "special" students he touched and was touched by. These are small side stories that take place in the movie, but they are essential for understanding how it grew over the years.

Another point I see, is that his family never really cared about his passion. His wife didn't care at all, she didn't like music and complained about his making "his" music. His son was deaf, and even though he could appretiate music in other ways (the lyric, the lights, feeling the vibration in his body, etc), he can't really feel the music. And while that, as a professor, he was able to meet a big lot of people, some of which liked his music and understood him more than his family, and who realized him more than them.

I'm intrigued on why you complained exactally about Rowena. You could ask to cut any of his "special" students for dedicating more movie time into his family. As I said, the movie proposely made him pay more attention to his students and neglect his family, then doing so would be against the movie idea.

Rowena, different from other students, fell in love for him. She obviously likes older men, and she liked his personality and his art touch. She was young (men in his age LOVE youth!) and full of dreams, and wills of realizing them. And she wanted him to flee from his failing life and go with her, obviously to be her husband.

As I see, Rowena is the fullest student he had. She represents the desire of an old man to drop his wife and forget about his children and restart a new life, with a young and youthful pretty girl. TOGETHER with the idea of restarting his profession, trying again to go for his dream of being a composer.

Sadly it was too late for him, he couldn't do that, he had responsibilities, a wife that doesn't work, a kid that needs special carings. And also he knew that if he'd go with her she'd later get tired of his olderness, and that he hardly would suceed in that work. But it touched him and many spectators how he could see it happening in his mind.

About giving more attention to Cole's deaf, I don't see how this could happen. This isn't a move about deaf people, about how they handle their limitation and a "hearing society". Cole isn't the main character of the movie. And as I said Holland focused more on his passion and profession and he wasn't supported on either of them by his family.

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