Per Matt
Alexander Payne is a filmmaker who just gets it. He seemingly understands every element of the industry (or at least he has the self-awareness to hire the very best employees to make up the difference). That’s high praise that I don’t bestow onto just anybody. I was originally turned onto the multi-hyphenate artist with Sideways back in 2004, which truly spoke to me. Maybe it was simply a feature film that felt a little too familiar at a certain point in my life, but it’s an all-time favorite of mine, and it’s one that I happily cheered on, all the way to its Oscar statuettes.
Because of this, I’ll gladly sit down and watch the latest release from the man, sight unseen. And, honestly, I really didn’t know much of anything about The Holdovers, other than it’s Payne’s latest collaboration with Paul Giamatti.
At Barton Academy, a swanky New England boarding school, Paul Hunham (played by Giamatti) teaches the classics, topics that many of his students simply cannot relate with in 1970. But the subject matter isn’t the most difficult thing his students must grapple with, it’s Hunham’s personality (as well as his body odor), which annoys the school’s students and administrators, alike.
Paul’s cranky, authoritarian ways rub everyone the wrong way. Period. Especially during Christmastime. But it takes a major past event to push him over the edge. And maybe it’ll be one which allows his Grinch-like heart to grow three times on Christmas Day!
After failing a previous student (who deserved it) and losing a major donor for the school, he receives the honor of babysitting five “reprobates,” as they’re initially referred to, for two weeks, while the school is closed for the holidays. Paul’s mission is to “instill basic academic discipline,” while fighting entitlement, which seems every bit the unthankful job that plays out on the screen. But when an unplanned field trip takes four of these misfits away, that leaves just Paul, lunch lady Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) in a cold, isolated school.
These unlikeliest of allies are forced together: a teenager whose recently remarried mother chooses the absolutely worst time to take her honeymoon, a grieving mother away from her extended family and a loner professor with disdain for everything. Somehow, they might just find a way to work together and help each other out…
“If you truly want to understand the present, or yourself, you must begin in the past.”
First of all, Payne absolutely nails the retro environment, as I truly felt like this story was taking place before I was even born. The characters’ attitudes, philosophies and teaching styles all felt incredibly familiar to those I witnessed growing up — both good and bad. Authority figures often get a bad rap in big-screen storylines, but I’m happy with Paul’s character development here. His “Ah-Ha!” moment does not disappoint as he finally learns compassion in the least likely of places.
Newcomer Sessa brings the fire and the desire to his role, but the main event here is the emotional journey taking place between Tony-winner Randolph (she has since won a Golden Globe for her role here) and Oscar-winner Giamotti (who also won a Globe for his role). Both actors are terrific with their spotlight moments, and both actors have since been nominated for Academy Awards for their roles. I’m already cheering them both on!
It’s well-deserved praise, although Payne has seemingly been shut out of this cycle, once again. That is unfortunate. It’s a crime that he hasn’t won a Globe or an Oscar for his direction yet and I can only hope that situation gets resolved in the near future. Also missing from the conversation is screenwriter David Hemingson for some reason, whose script is a force of nature.
In the meantime, why is the overall film not trending in the right direction?
Centered around Christmas, this one feels like a holiday film that didn’t quite get the attention it deserved during at the movie theaters. While the main character can easily be considered a Scrooge-like embodiment or an antihero, maybe this was the anti-Christmas movie I didn’t realize I needed until it was too late, and the holiday was history.
Many people didn’t even know about this film until watching the trailer that was shown before Oppenheimer in theaters, and that type of exposure is invaluable now that the Barbenheimer experience ruled the box office last year (and the films lit up the MCFCA 2023 Awards!). Hopefully, this indie film (it definitely feels like one, even if it isn’t) will gain some traction on Peacock and home video, perhaps in the vein of A Christmas Story, an all-time holiday fave of mine, and becomes a modern-day classic.
As the awards season winds down, I’m excited about the future prospects for The Holdovers. While I’ll absolutely question the Focus Features marketing campaign (or the absence of one), as well as its limited release strategy into movie theaters, I’m just so happy to hear the critical acclaim bestowed upon it that feels free flowing. This is an all-around great film, including the writing, the acting and the directing.
Obviously, I’m a fan. I hope you will give The Holdovers an opportunity, even if it’s a movie centered around Christmas, while Valentines Day is fast approaching.
“I find the world a bitter and complicated place, and it seems to feel the same way about me…”