Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 133 mins

The Holdovers is the new Alexander Payne film and his first since 2017’s Downsizing. While Downsizing received a mixed reception, I found a lot to like in it, especially its ambitious first half.  I certainly vastly preferred it over Nebraska, which was nominated for six Oscar’s in 2014 and never understood the love for it. 

The Holdovers reunites Payne with his Sideways lead Paul Giamatti who stars as Paul Hunham, a strict classics teacher at Barton Academy, a New England boarding school that he attended back in his youth. Hunham is a curmudgeon and is despised by the students and most of his fellow teacher. In one of the film’s first scenes, we hear him happily humming when he dishes out some bad grades to his students. After Hunham gives an important donor’s son a failing grade, as punishment, he is forced to supervise the ‘holdover’ students left on campus over the holidays. One such student includes Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), whose mother has abruptly cancelled a family holiday to go on a honeymoon with her new husband. Hunham and Tully are both at each other’s necks but soon learn to tolerate each other – it’s a familiar comedy set-up. 

The Holdovers is Payne at his best and is a tender delight from start to finish, but it deftly balances its warmth with a bittersweet tone. The performances are terrific all around, especially Giamatti, and the film perfectly evokes classic 1970’s cinema with its intentionally rustic aesthetic – it looks and feels like a work made at the time. It’s beautifully shot by In Bruges cinematographer Eigil Bryld, especially the wintry landscapes during the opening credits and some disorienting frames that feature late into the film. The Holdovers marks the second film of Payne’s career that he doesn’t write, with David Hemingson taking the reins in his feature length debut. And what a strong impression Hemingson makes with the sharp, peppery script, with Hunham’s eloquent insults especially rib-tickling. 

Paul Giamatti turns in what I’d probably consider a career-best performance as Hunham. Hunham is both lovable and loathsome and an easy character to relate to with the hardships he’s faced in life. In fact, there are many similarities between Hunham and Miles Raymond, the character Giamatti plays in Sideways, both characters that have been hard done-by in life. Giamatti rarely takes leading roles and he showcases just what an underrated screen talent he is, from his line delivery to his mannerisms and lazy eye. He fully deserves all the Awards praise he is receiving and possibly even the win. 

Dominic Sessa is also electrifying in his debut performance as Tully, who’s also faced a difficult upbringing and is able to begin to relate to Hunham as the film progresses. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is another highlight as Mary Lamb, the school’s head cook who also stays over the holidays to mourn her recently deceased son. Watching Hunham, Tully and Mary interact and come to grips with their situation as the film progresses is incredibly satisfying and it’s hard to not to watch the film with a grin on your face but Payne balances this with the story’s darker undertones. 

I absolutely loved The Holdovers and was completely swept up by the film throughout, with its intelligent script and committed performances. It’s Payne’s best film since Sideways and I predict it will become a Christmas classic, with its perfectly judged bittersweet tone. They certainly don’t make films like this anymore.