Alexander Payne (“Election,” “Nebraska”) has made a career out of putting curmudgeonly characters in difficult and uncomfortable situations. Now, he’s turned back the clock to the 1970s and bringing snow down upon the New England regions to give its boarding school students a very merry (and for some unmerry) Christmas with “The Holdovers”.
The film follows strict classical studies professor Paul Hunham, played by Paul Giamatti (“Sideways,” “Win Win”), who is forced to look after the students who have held over, i.e. not gone home for the winter break, at the boarding school where he teaches. Through a comical series of events, this results in him watching after just one student, Angus Tully, played in by Dominic Sessa in his debut film, alongside the school’s cafeteria manager Mary Lamb, played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph (“Dolemite is My Name,” “The United States vs. Billie Holliday”).
Each of the three main cast members plays off the other expertly, really selling the idea that these are a gaggle of misfits forced to spend time together and only then slowly growing to care for one another. Giamatti is absolute perfection, giving a note perfect performance that balances the uppity snooty side of his dramatic roles with his excellent comedic talents. Sessa handedly holds his own against his fellow far more experienced actors and is the heart of the movie itself. He’s also just perfect. Randolph is heart breaking and fantastic, just as funny as Giamatti and Sessa and, like them, also just perfect.
Payne makes full use of the chunky grain field of his photography and the time period and delivers an experience that doesn’t feel like a movie emulating the 1970s, but rather one that was simply sliced out and plucked from the era, dropped into out 21st century laps. The fuzz of it all, as well as the crackle of the sound and the period appropriate production design almost glows with a warmth and light all its own, as if everything had a string of Christmas lights wound up inside of it.
While there are plenty of laughs here, Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson (“American Dad,” “Just Shoot Me!”) also mine the proceedings for some introspection and deep emotions, reflecting both on the inner lives of the characters and the place of academia and “higher” education in the lives of people. It’s somewhat surprising how effortlessly the film manages to critique the difference between highly educated people and those who aren’t and how the differing groups hold opinions of each other. All of this somehow not only works, but it never feels forced or brings down the holiday mood.
There’s just something about the feeling that the film exudes that makes it such a source of pure holiday warmth and joy. Maybe it’s the welcoming feel of its cinematography from Eigil Bryld (“Ocean’s 8,” “In Bruges”). Maybe it’s the musical score, a source of quaint and fun delight, by Mark Orton (“Nebraska,” “The Good Girl”). Maybe it's just a bit of Christmas magic that makes everything feel as perfect as can be, making you smile despite the tears and laugh despite the pain. It’s an almost indescribable holiday miracle of a movie.
What Payne has managed to do with “The Holdovers” is the kind of film that one could best describe as simply perfect. It might seem like hyperbole or like too little description. But truly, in every fiber of its construction and craft, in each performance, in each note of musical score and speck of grain on screen, it's as if it all has come together to just give you a big warm holiday hug. It’s something truly special and audacious, a modern holiday classic that will be revisited come the winter months for years and years to come. 5/5
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