Movie Review: The Holdovers
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
Alexander Payne is well aware that they don’t make movies like The Holdovers anymore. This is evident before the movie even starts, opening with a ratings card right out of the 1970s and production titles from the same time. Filmed in 35mm, it has the warmth that only film can provide – despite its winter setting – and its soundtrack is replete with era-appropriate Christmas standards.
But beyond its aesthetic trappings, movies like The Holdovers are still rare, at least for those who hope to see them in theaters. A character-based comedy about the begrudging friendship between a prickly teacher and one of his students, it’s the type of warm-hearted inspirational movie that could become a modest hit in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s but today would be relegated to streaming and stretched out for 10 hours. But just because it would normally be shipped out to video on demand doesn’t mean audiences should wait for it to hit their TVs or computers. A funny and moving story, it’s easily Payne’s most accessible – and potentially most human – movie, one that could potentially catch on as a new holiday classic in the coming years. And the laughs and tears work even better in a packed theater.
Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunham, a history teacher at Barton Academy, an East Coast prep school where he’s spent most of his life. Hunham was a student at Barton and, after college, came back there to teach and has not left, although you get the sense his departure wouldn’t be mourned. Hunham is an old-school fellow who is feared and hated by his students as well as most of his peers. He’s a harsh grader, a blunt talker and it’s remarked several times that he smells of fish. The school’s headmaster is looking for a way to get rid of him, probably because Hunham refused to give the son of a donor an easy pass.
While he can’t outright fire him, the headmaster does find a way to mete out punishment by placing Hunham in charge of the boys left behind during Christmas break while their peers go home for family vacations. Initially in charge of a handful of these “holdovers,” circumstances whittle that down to one kid, the angry and rebellious Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). Over the course of the two-week holiday break in 1970, Hunham, Angus and the school’s cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) to try to live together civilly – although it’s not too hard to predict that perhaps they’ll learn to understand each other and learn some lessons along the way.
Payne is no stranger to stories about sad, caustic individuals, and his characters in The Holdovers initially seem on brand. In addition to the grumpy Hunham, Angus has a chip on his shoulder and some angry issues about his family back home, and Mary is mourning the loss of her son in the Vietnam War. But Payne also has struggled in the past to find the balance between laughing with his bitter characters and laughing at them. Perhaps it’s the holiday setting, perhaps it’s a script from David Hemingson that gives the characters depth and tenderness without giving into sentimentality. Maybe it’s that he has great performers on hand, or it’s possible that Payne is just growing up. Whatever the reason, this is one of Payne’s few films to have affection for his hurting characters and a hope that they’ll turn out okay.
One of Giamatti’s greatest performances was in Payne’s 2004 comedy Sideways, in which he played a misanthropic oenophile. He gives a similar strong – and possibly better – performance as the similarly misanthropic Hunham (who’s a bit more partial to Scotch than cabernet). Giamatti seems to relish the sequences where he can toss scathing one-liners at his pupils, but the film wisely doesn’t make Hunham a cartoon. He’s depressed, both at how his life has turned out and at the state of the world. He’s principled, even if it puts him at odds with his students and colleagues. And he’s self-aware; he understands that he lacks the ability to connect with people, which allows us to sympathize with the character instead of ridiculing him.
Randolph is strong as a grieving mother, who provides a listening ear to both Hunham and Angus during their time there. It’s a good performance – Randolph can speak volumes about sorrow with just a look – and there’s a scene where she has an emotional breakdown at a Christmas party that is heart-rending without being overplayed. It’s a shame the movie shuttles the character offscreen for the majority of its second half. But the film’s true revelation is Sessa, who imbues Angus with anger, sorrow and confusion. He’s a kid who’s been kicked out of several schools and has an angry streak, but he also looks out for the younger holdovers. He has a solid anti-chemistry with Giamatti that develops into respect and friendship over the course of the film without ever feeling dictated by the plot. It’s a funny, heartfelt and nuanced performance, and it’s a bit shocking to head over to Sessa’s IMDB page and discover this is his first on-screen role. I’m curious to see where he goes next.
Paul Giamatti and Dominic Sessa in “The Holdovers.” Photo by Courtesy of FOCUS FEATURES – © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Holdovers doesn’t stray too far from the set formula. The teacher and the student learn a lesson. There are misunderstandings. There’s a touching ending. But it’s a reliable formula for a reason, and The Holdovers makes itself work within the established template. Working alongside Hemingson’s perceptive and highly quotable script, Payne understands how to pull laughs from sadness, but for the first time he also lets himself linger in that brokenness enough to let the light shine through his characters’ cracked facades. These are three bitter, sad people – and, in one scene, Hunham admits it. But Payne and his cast understand when to let that bitterness be funny but also when to hold off from undercutting the emotion with a joke, something with which the director has previously struggled. The film is a funny and easy watch, and the Christmas setting provides a cozy background for these decidedly un-cozy individuals. But Payne also lets them become likable as the film continues, making this a less abrasive experience than some of his previous work (lest you think I’m being too hard on the director, I consider his 1999 Election to be one of that best films of that great year).
It’s a common refrain that “hurt people hurt people,” and there’s inherent drama in that idea. But sometimes, hurt people are the only ones who can help those who are similarly struggling. Their broken parts fit together. The three outcasts of The Holdovers aren’t just isolated from their families. As we watch them interact with their classmates and colleagues, or with others at a party, we see that they don’t fit anywhere. But during two weeks, the guards come down and they’re able to make connections that make them feel a little less lonely. Have we seen this story before? Sure. But it’s been a long time since it’s been done this well or this enjoyable. The Holdovers is one of the funniest, most touching and more enjoyable films of 2023, and a high point of Payne’s career.
