The Holdovers

by Mike McGranaghan

The Holdovers is the kind of movie that would have been made in the 1970s, so director Alexander Payne makes it look like something from that era. The film opens with the Universal Pictures logo from the ‘70s, followed by the blue MPAA rating card that used to appear before or after every feature. Clicks and pops, meant to replicate the wear and tear of a celluloid print, punctuate the mono soundtrack. The image has little scratches to achieve the same effect. Payne wisely pulls back from that enjoyable gimmick after the opening credits, yet maintains the look, style, and tone of cinematic works from the period.

Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) has been duped into remaining at fancy prep school Barton Academy over Christmas to supervise the few students not returning home for the holiday. He doesn’t seem to like teenagers very much, often referring to them as “degenerates” and “reprobates.” Also sticking around is the school cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), a woman grieving the recent death of her son in Vietnam. Then there’s Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa, in an extraordinary screen debut), a troubled young man who hides his pain behind a wall of sarcasm and being, as Hunham puts it, “a pain in the balls.”

You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to figure out these three people form an unlikely family over the course of a few weeks. Personal issues come to the surface and begin to find resolution. Even if the overall story arc isn’t original, The Holdovers elevates familiar ideas. David Hemingson’s screenplay completely lacks the sort of manipulative elements that exist in similar films. Instead, he goes for complete realism with a plot that acknowledges life is messy, a person’s pain often dictates their behavior, and we cling to whomever is closest when we’re most alone. Everything consequently unfolds in an authentic manner that feels like real life.

Exceptional performances make it a pleasure to watch the characters interact. Giamatti has never been better. The sardonic quality he gives Hunham is uproarious, but the actor gradually shows the inner turmoil fueling that quality. This teacher is hard on his students because he doesn’t want them to end up like him. Holding your own against a performer of Giamatti’s stature isn’t easy. Newcomer Sessa does it, helping to build a dynamic in which these two people of different generations get on each other’s nerves because, at some level, they’re very much alike. Randolph, meanwhile, is alternately heartbreaking and hilarious as Mary, whose tragic loss creates an unexpected combination of empathy for others and refusal to put up with their BS.

Payne takes his time with the story, allowing us to sit with Hunham, Angus, and Mary. Lots of movies these days want to have big things happening every second. Like the ‘70s classics he’s inspired by, the director sees value in allowing viewers to observe the smaller, quieter moments in the characters’ lives. We’re afforded time to know them intimately and to understand how life at Barton Academy impacts them. The ending is immensely satisfying as a result.

I absolutely love slice-of-life movies. The Holdovers is one of the best in years. It’s got a ring of truth that’s difficult to achieve and so, so gratifying to find.

---