Movies
“The Holdovers” Is A Rare Bleak Comedy Comfort Watch
Truly, The Holdovers is at its simplest, very pleasurable. It hits all the right notes while adding some unreal unique ticks.
“A cranky history teacher at a remote prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook and a troubled student who has no place to go.”
Director: Alexander Payne
Writers: David Hemingson
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston
Release: November 10, 2023
IMDB
The Holdovers (2023) gained my attention with its first trailer, which was shared with me by my good friend Matthew McGinnity. Besides the fact that The Holdovers reunites Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne, the retro music, editing style and opaque visual look of the comedic preview enthusiastically ramped up excitement for this crude yet heartfelt holiday story.
Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a cranky history professor at a prestigious all-male private educational institution. Being forced to draw the short end of the stick, Paul must stay on the grounds of the school to supervise a group of students who are not going home for the holidays.
At first there are a few young men with no homes to escape to, but eventually there is just one student holdover. Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) is an easily irritable young man whose bad behavior has had him on school’s expulsion more than a few times. Paul and Angus often butt heads, but head chef Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) steady catering hand acts as a kind mediator for many of their disputes.
Paul hates everyone and everything and buries all happiness deep down where only the most irate can relate. Angus acts angry but his reasons are shown in part at the start with family stress tearing him a sunder. Mary wears her pain on her sleeve, having to deal with the loss of her son in Vietnam.
These three characters share memories with another and develop a unique bond that shifts each of their ways of thinking. Bickering and verbal altercations are still broiling across every turn, but the trio begin to bond of the littlest of similarities till there is no denying the indelible impact that each stamp on one another. At the start of The Holdovers, Paul, Angus and Mary are in their own silos of personal woe, but at the end, they each can say they celebrated one Christmas holiday that was uniquely heartfelt compared to the rest.
When you get down to the nuts and bolts, The Holdvers is a very well made movie with an effective message that’s easily digestible for audiences of young and old. The student-teacher relationship is amusing on its own, but the added on emotional wrinkles of family struggles and perception to past peers makes this distinct era-bound story timeless. Dare I say, you The Holdovers has a chance to be a holiday staple, which possibly means more in the long run than Oscar nominations.
Paul Giamatti is elite at playing stubborn. He brought forth the same energy in a pitiful way with Sideways (2004), and now Alexander Payne has asked his friend to raise the flag of over-exasperated annoyance once again. Giamatti can emote annoyed via facial expressions better than most, and the smirking smile Hunham the professor has when announcing a pop quiz or additional homework is unfairly charismatic.
One of the most emotional and dramatic parts of the movie comes when Hunham and Tully are taking a tour of a Boston museum as part of an impromptu educational “field trip.” It’s a professor taking a student and opening his mind to how history is an interesting lens into the present, and not just a timeline of dates and a rolodex of names. A change in teaching location means a change in perspective, and the different approach Hunham takes means a more attentive response from Tully.
It is rather rude that Tully speaks such ugly truths about Hunham’s relationship with anyone right after being given a piece of advice that he’ll hold till the end of his days. But Tully is a man whose idea of right and wrong is still evolving, so we can forgive the unfortunate brutality of his meant-to-be-helpful honesty.
Speaking on Tully, Dominic Sessa, allow me to reintroduce yourself. In his first ever major motion picture role, Sessa found himself in the conversation for an Academy Award nomination while formally receiving a BAFTA nod. Sessa went toe-to-toe with Giamatti in scenes, including the best scene of the entire film.
The broken arm scene is comedy gold. The Holdover’s version of the Breakfast Club chase down is not athletic at all. It’s a twisted game of hide-and-go seek, but every turn it takes adds the laugh track. The mocking of gym class, the idea of the Rubicon, and the outstanding OH FUCK WHAT JUST HAPPENED acting by Sessa makes this sequence one of the funniest scenes released in the calendar year 2023.
This is going to be a hot take, but Da’Vine Joy Randolph didn’t do a whole lot for me. Playing the part of Mary Lamb, she has the tug-of-war part of being the middle generation and mediator for Hunham and Tully. The is the game show host in the two main apart’s squabble. In terms of standing out compared to her co-stars, Joy Randolph comes up short. Now with that being said, her performance is nothing to push aside. The kitchen scene is heartbreaking and is perhaps the scene that got Joy Randolph the Oscar nomination.
Before wrapping up, a special shoutout should also be given to cinematographer Eigil Bryld. For The Holdovers movie to work as well as it does, it needs to feel like it came from that time of a bygone era. The way this movie is shot and lit evokes a distinctive style that’s impossible to ignore. The unique nature of the first trailer lives up to all the hype for the entire film. The Holdovers isn’t a movie that demands great visuals, but the elevated look adds an exponential amount to the overall experience.
The credits of The Holdovers begin to roll and a safe feeling washes over your body. “Ah, that was great. What a delightful movie.”
Truly, The Holdovers is, at its simplest, very pleasurable. It hits all the right notes while adding some unreal unique ticks. The heartfelt ending will make viewers want to travel back to 1970 snowy northeast setting year after year.
In all, The Holdovers has been nominated for five Academy Awards: Best Actor (Pual Giamatti), Best Film Editing (Kevin Tent), Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay (David Hemingson), and Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
Da’Vine Joy Randolph has been collecting the most wins this awards season, most notably taking the Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA. Paul Giamatti won the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award. Domic Sessa was recognized by the CCA as Best Young Actor/Actress.
As of February 2024, The Holdovers is streaming on Peacock.
STANKO RATING: A-
Sidenote here. The Holdovers made me think back on some of the most influential teachers I had. Shout out Ms. Tamsin for high school English. Shoutout to the ones that found a way to be impactful forever.
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