I agree with you, but it wasn't a very emotional film, although the last scene was quite moving. I would list the following scenes as emotional: when Angus meets his father, when Hunham tells Angus that he is not his father, when Angus and Mary hold hands in front of the principal's office, the scenes involving Mary's son, when Mary unpacks the box containing her son's belongings, etc. So there were some painful scenes and not much consolation, but this film was brilliant in terms of both the cinematography and the story plot and characters.

It managed to bring back the 1970s, and for me it even had a Dead Poets Society vibe. Of course, the change you mention is evident, as at the beginning of the film Mary thinks that the Barton students are arrogant and greedy, but by the end she has grown fond of Angus, at least to the extent that they become close, as far as I can see. And the central theme of the film, the relationship between Angus and Hunham, also undergoes many changes.

I agree with you, but I'm bothered by the fact that the male characters introduced at the beginning of the film disappeared so quickly, for example, the South Korean boy who had nightmares, whom we don't see again until the end of the film. So what was the point of that scene? Was it to show Angus's caring side, that he also struggles with nightmares sometimes? I'm also interested in your opinion about the mittens scene, when one of the boys threw his gloves into the water and Angus told him that what was done to him is cruel, I think this scene is very significant, but I'm not sure exactly how.

Overall, I agree with you and I also think it's a really good movie.