From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
What We Thought:
Simply put, The Holdovers is one of the best films of 2023. It’s going to be nominated for all types of awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Paul Giamatti and it deserves every single nomination. I was looking forward to this because I’ve enjoyed most of Alexander Payne’s previous films and this is set in 1970s New England and I’m a New Englander and I’m happy to report it did not disappoint.
Giamatti plays a cantankerous teacher of privileged young men at a prep school who gets forced into watching the boys who aren’t heading home over Christmas break, aka the holdovers. At first it’s a handful of kids, but it ends up being just Giamatti, a cook required to be there to cook for the boys and one student played by newcomer Dominic Sessa.
This is where the film shines. There are funny scenes in the beginning, but when it’s just this threesome the film develops its heart along with its laughs. Each character is fleshed out giving just enough backstory into why all three are the way they are. The cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) is grief stricken after losing her son in Vietnam. The student’s mother has remarried and leaves him there. Giamatti being so hard-nosed is explained throughout. Not one of them feels out of place or under developed. And all three actors deserve awards buzz with Giamatti a Best Actor frontrunner and Randolph picking up Best Supporting steam.
Plus you can see why all three start showing their softer sides. On a trip to Boston, Giamatti and Sessa’s characters bond over shared trauma. You see Da’Vine’s family along with her grief of missing her son. It’s all set around Christmas which is an emotional time of the year to begin with. But don’t think it’s just a heavy handed drama, there are laugh out loud moments with all of them which really highlights the humanity of these people.
The Holdovers won me over with its charm, comedy and drama. The three actors are fantastic and Payne captures an era and location brilliantly. At times it’s laugh out loud hilarious. At times it’s crushingly dramatic. But at all times it’s human and extremely well acted and well made. Because of that it is…
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Director: Alexander Payne
Writer: David Hemingson
Producers: Mark Johnson p.g.a, Bill Block, David Hemingson
Executive Producers: Andrew Golov, Thom Zadra, Chris Stinson
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, introducing Dominic Sessa
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‘COLLECTOR’S EDITION’ EXCLUSIVE BONUS FEATURES:
- Alternate Ending – “Mary Continues On”
- Deleted Scenes
- Introduction by Alexander Payne
- New Room
- Making a Scene
- The Road Back to Barton
- Ancient History
- The Cast of THE HOLDOVERS – Sit down with the cast of THE HOLDOVERS, including Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and newcomer Dominic Sessa, while they discuss getting into the minds of their characters. Meet the boys of Barton and learn more about director Alexander Payne’s casting process.
- Working with Alexander – Hear the cast and crew about their on-set experience working with acclaimed director Alexander Payne.
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