The Holdovers – Film Review

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston,

Director: Alexander Payne

Synopsis: A prep school student must remain on campus over the Christmas holidays with his history professor and the school’s head cook…

Review: Christmas is a usually celebratory and special time of the year when families can get together, exchange gifts, relax and unwind after a busy 12 months prior. However, for some people, this may not be the case. For a multitude of reasons, they might not have anywhere to go. It is a difficult predicament at the best of times, particularly for anyone forced to spend the holidays at an educational institution, such as a boarding school. Such a premise on paper doesn’t sound like it would be ripe material for a heart-warming Christmas film, but the latest film from Alexander Payne is exactly that, a warm hug of a film and one that will surely cement itself as a staple of the holiday season every year.

It is Christmas 1970, and cantankerous classics professor Paul Hunham (Giamatti) at the Barton Academy in Massachusetts is tasked by the school’s headmaster to remain on campus to look after and supervise a select group of boys who have nowhere else to go, leaving them rather dismayed. Though when circumstances change and most of the students are allowed to depart thanks to one of their parents, it leaves only Paul, the school’s head cook Mary Lamb (Randolph) and the bright but troubled Angus Tully (Sessa) as the only people remaining on campus through the holidays, the latter duo having both recently lost close members of their family.

Right from the opening titles, which are recreated in the style of the 1970s, the audience is immediately transported into the spirit of the holiday season that gives you such a warm fuzzy feeling that very few times of the year could. The screenplay by David Hemingson, who based it on his own personal experience at a prep school, is filled with razor-sharp wit and humour, while also building poignant and emotional moments between its three main characters as they navigate having to spend the Christmas holidays in the one place they probably wish they could be as far away from as humanly possible.

Reuniting with Payne after they collaborated on 2004’s Sideways, Giamatti excels in a role that was almost certainly written with him in mind given he shares his name with his character. He is well aware that among the students, and even the faculty, he’s thoroughly despised for his strict approach to his job, but it doesn’t faze him at all and almost revels in it. His prickly attitude lends itself to difficult early moments between him and Angus, an unquestionably bright but troubled student going through a troubled moment in his life. To add insult to injury, he has been left behind by his family at the worst possible time. However as they spend more time with each other, the two build an unlikely friendship as they get to know each other’s past and understand the other’s perspective. It’s remarkable to think this is Sessa’s first screen performance and to act alongside Giamatti going toe-to-toe with a veteran of the industry, but he rises to this challenge spectacularly. Randolph completes the trifecta of magnificent performances as she brings warmth and heart to this group, showing compassion for Angus and his difficult situation, and rebuking Paul for his unnecessarily strict attitude towards Angus, all while grieving for the loss of her son.

If the opening titles weren’t enough to help set the scene and make the audience feel like they have time-travelled back to the 1970s themselves, the cinematography from Eigil Bryld beautifully captures the time period as if the filmmakers were using antique cameras and equipment to establish the 1970s setting. Similarly, the film juxtaposes the warmth and cosiness of the holiday season even in the midst of a place which is the antithesis of those two adjectives, while also capturing the cold depths of the Massachusetts winter. In modern times, films which are not part of an existing franchise, or not based on a book or already established source material are increasingly rare these days. As such they should be treasured like a special Christmas present, even more so considering the film contains one off the best insults you will ever hear on film.