The Holdovers

Ever since it opened in theaters, this new film from director Alexander Payne has garnered lots of acclaim, proving to be a big hit with both critics and audiences alike.  It is set during Christmas 1970, with all of the seasonal trappings, and feels quite Dickensian in ways.  It is about three characters who are stuck at a New England boarding school over the holiday break for reasons that are revealed as the story progresses.  The only thing they really have in common is a rather dysfunctional relationship with each other.

Paul Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a bitter classics teacher who is hated by his students and has a great disdain for them.  As he grades their papers, he grumbles, “Philistines…vulgar little Philistines!”  One student in particular, Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), incurs the wrath of Hunham as he constantly acts out.  When Christmas break arrives, several other students are stuck at the school initially, but are eventually taken on a ski trip by a classmate’s wealthy parents, leaving the teacher stranded there with Tully, as well as the cafeteria administrator, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who became an alcoholic after her son died in the Vietnam War.

But Tully is unable to reach his mother, who is on her honeymoon with his new stepfather.  Naturally, he decides to frequently disobey and disrespect the teacher with abandon, who threatens him with detention multiple times (“Being stuck here with you is a detention!” he shouts).  Hunham, much like Scrooge, cares more about grades and historical lectures than treating others, especially his students, as people.  The bitter old man is also an alcoholic, and shares drinks with Mary while watching The Newlywed Game.  Yet over the course of these two weeks, we (and they) understand more about each other and their struggles.

Payne reunites with Giamatti for the first time since his feature Sideways.  The seasoned actor is magnificent as always.  Randolph (Dolemite is My Name) is marvelous.  But the biggest surprise here is Sessa, in his debut role.  Like his co-stars, he displays such a wide range of emotions, and they all feel like human beings by the time the credits roll.  Although the film is shot digitally, the director takes us back to that era by shooting in Massachusetts, and convincingly transforming it into 70’s New England.

If The Holdovers has a flaw, it is in the failure to give us proper context.  Speaking in the broadest terms, more than one character’s decisions are affected by the war.  But the film is too interested in showing us their transformations than exploring the time period.

Even so, this is one movie that deserves your attention, especially because it might have flown under your radar.  The story, while nothing new, provides us with drama, comedy, and is deeply moving.  The performances are all superb, giving us believable, relatable—albeit highly dysfunctional—characters.  This is one of the year’s best offerings, just in time for the holidays.  I imagine that if Hunham were grading The Holdovers, he just might smile and give it an “A”.

Rated R

2 hours, 13 minutes