“The Holdovers” relishes in the powers of its actors, its dialogue and its setting. The film takes an angry kid, a washed up academic and a grieving mother into the quiet and forces them to sit with each other, literally. Much of the film develops at the dining table, where cook, professor and student meet, share with the audience and depart, leaving us with this understated masterpiece in the form of a simple story about love and rehabilitation.
After arriving in theaters on Oct. 27, “The Holdovers” has become an instant hit, receiving five Academy Award nominations and winning two Golden Globes. Although the film immediately received critical acclaim, its merit for all audience members is a pleasant surprise. This is not one of those films receiving praise just because it fits the mold of an Oscar winner. “The Holdovers” feels like a breath of fresh air, emulating the heartfelt films that don’t usually get nominated.
“The Holdovers” takes place at the New England boarding school Barton Academy in 1970 during winter break. Pual Hunham is the cranky professor of ancient history at Barton and his student, Angus Tully, is a piece of work himself, talking back to Hunham and getting into fights with other students. Hunham, having no family to join for the holidays, is forced to remain on campus to take care of students over the holiday break along with chef Mary Lamb who has decided to stay at the school to remember her son, previously a student at the Academy, who was killed fighting in Vietnam. When Angus’s distant mother revokes their trip to Boston at the last minute, he is stuck at Barton as well. Brought together by circumstance, Paul Hunham and Angus are forced to do what is not in either of their natures and bond with one another.
The premise of the film is simple, as are its most important moments. The 70s aesthetic removes the clutter of modern technology for one small box TV set. The setting too remains firmly mundane, aptly placing its characters within the isolation and reserved beauty of a New England winter. Filmed throughout Massachusetts, including at the local Deerfield Academy, “The Holdovers” is as much a love letter to New England as it is to its three protagonists. With the assistance of its melancholy setting, the film lingers on moments like car rides and dinners — a choice that is reflected in the long run time for a comedy movie. The screenwriter David Hemingson and the director Alexander Payne use this runtime wisely, leaving the audience with a final project that feels like a complete ode to these funny, broken and healing characters.
With its melancholy aesthetics and dialogue-heavy screenplay, the film is made by its actors. Paul Giamatti, the most well-known actor in the cast, is as strong as ever, bringing a wholeness to his character from his first scene. Previously working with director Alexander Payne in the 2004 film “Sideways,” the two team up again to create a seemingly effortless blend between comedy and sincerity. His frequent scene partner 21-year-old Dominic Sessa breaks out swinging in his debut role, bringing a unique take on the trope of the edgy teenage boy. Through his sporadic body language and potent line delivery, Sessa brings the weight of his character’s emotions into every room he enters. The final piece of their puzzle is Da’Vine Joy Randolph who, although the least verbose of the cast, provides warmth to the project that grounds and completes Giamatti and Sessa’s performances.
The film is an easy addition to the canon of Christmas movies, meeting its siblings “The Family Stone” and “Love Actually,” but setting itself apart within the genre. What it reassesses is the need for an ensemble cast, instead relying on the genius of Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph. It discovers that “love actually is all around” without needing to see it, allowing universality to live within its three protagonists. “The Holdovers” ultimately concludes that what can make you really believe in the Christmas spirit is two people who don’t think they need it.
