Film Review: "The Holdovers"

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Click here to watch a trailer for The Holdovers 

I confess that I am not always the biggest Alexander Payne fan. I was disappointed with his films The Descendants and Downsizing. Even Nebraska did not meet my expectations. Now, if he’s working with Paul Giamatti, I’m all eyes and ears. The 2004 film about exploring wine country in California, Sideways, which was their first collaboration, is a perfect movie. The wide-ranging actor specifically never fails as the rigid curmudgeon that just needs a beer and a hug. 

Once again, they both strike gold with the surprisingly amusing dramedy, The Holdovers. In one of the most acclaimed films of 2023, Giamatti plays a grumpy history, or as he describes as ancient civilizations, teacher at an all-boys boarding school called Barton Academy. He goes by the name, Mr. Paul Hunham. 

The sophisticated but snarky instructor casually smokes his pipe and gives out more Fs and Ds than Bs and As to his uniform-wearing students, which provokes the ire of a donor to this prestigious institution. He meets his match and swallows his pride when he is forced to open up to people that he least expected to be stuck with during the Christmas break. He is stuck with a very clever, rebellious student named Angus Tully. 

Newcomer Dominic Sessa gives a strong first impression as this pupil who is not having the best holiday season. He may be one of the very few students to pass Mr. Hunham’s merciless exams, but Tully’s stressful, heartbreaking family dynamics prevent him from enjoying privileges that many of his peers take for granted such as an expensive Christmas vacation. 

Da’Vine Joy Randolph portrays Mary Lamb, who is the cafeteria manager. Randolph knows how to handle the difficult personalities of both Mr. Hunham and Tully just by simply giving them a chance. She is also enduring a difficult holiday season because her son died while fighting in the Vietnam War. Randolph also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, which she deserved. 

Considering these circumstances, The Holdovers reminds me of the old idiom, misery loves company. Luckily, this movie never goes down a dark path. Payne has shared that he mainly watches old movies. It is apparent that he has a longing for a more retro, old-school method of storytelling. He elaborated that he wants to make movies with that 1970s vibe. It is a technique that cherishes being young in a bygone era, but Payne’s overall vision still acknowledges the current state of cinema. 

Even though some of his films underwhelmed me, I am aware that Payne understands humor without being too determined to be the funniest guy in the room. His sincerity is clever and matches the right scenario for the characters to get to know each other better. There are a couple of scenes where Tully and Mr. Hunham lie about their pressing circumstances in order protect each other from either humiliation or unnecessary trouble. This is how a surprisingly jovial friendship blossoms between two guys who both display stubbornness.

 It is the subtle and feisty jabs between faculty and students, inside jokes associated with the humanities, and the random bursts of civil rebellion that make it easier for Payne and Giamatti to sink their teeth into truly quick, sharp wittiness. For instance, it is quite satisfying to watch Mr. Hunham confidently defend Tully against an insufferable, persnickety dean that wants to kick out this student who might end up in military school. Mr. Hunham stands up to his superior and even insults him with a suitable comeback without being too crass. In a way, the Oscar-winning director is like a more intellectual Judd Apatow. 

In comparison to another film that was released back in 2021, The Holdovers did loosely remind me of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. The Holdovers may be set in the cold, snow-covered Northeast area while Licorice Pizza takes place out in sunny California. More notably, both of these movies take place in the early 1970s. Paul Thomas Anderson and Alexander Payne deliberately let their characters swim around in special, revelatory conversations. That is how their cast members can drift away carefree in those unique situations and leave those misadventures as more enlightened individuals. Such a simple but clever approach to character development is what unites both Anderson and Payne as seasoned filmmakers. 

 I had the privilege of seeing The Holdovers at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September 2023. Before this afternoon screening, Alexander Payne told the audience a sweet anecdote about one of the extras in his latest offering before the film reel started rolling. When they were getting ready to film a scene in a liquor store, a gentleman, who works there, wanted to star in just one scene since he loves movies so much. Payne graciously gave him that small role. In that scene, Mr. Hunham and Angus Tully enter and shop around this liquor store. 

During the errand, the lazy-eyed ancient civilizations teacher shares with Tully about a bitter dispute with one of his colleagues while he was attending Harvard University. While they were checking out, the clerk at the liquor store hands the purchased bottle back to Mr. Hunham and tells him, "Here you go, killer" referencing the story that he overheard. When he delivered this line in a dry tone to the main protagonist, the whole theater applauded and cheered for this gentleman whose wish to star in a movie came true. The Holdovers is definitely a rewatchable movie. 

It made me chuckle and can put others in a better, more content mood, especially during the holidays. You better believe I will watch this movie again once the holiday season starts back up in November. The memorable acting and the precise focus on education and friendship make it a timeless, feel-good film. Since the Oscars are just around the corner, I certainly hope that Paul Giamatti goes home with the Oscar for Best Actor.


By William Anthony|Librarian I, BPL Citizen Services Department
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