It's the most wonderful time of the year, or so they say. We must always remember that Christmas isn't necessarily a joyous experience for everybody and for many people out there who are alone on the holidays or dealing with recent loss, it can be difficult. Alexander Payne's The Holdovers is a fantastic, bittersweet Yuletide comedy drama that serves to remind us all just that and shows us several folks who, left to their own devices in a holiday situation out of their control, find family and fellowship where they can, making the most out of it. Paul Giamatti gives one of his customarily excellent and boisterously heartfelt performances as Paul (naturally), a gruff teacher at a posh Massachusetts boarding school for boys sometime in the 70's, a stylistic aesthetic that Payne leans into right down to details like a grainy, retro Universal logo. Paul is tasked with looking after the 'holdovers,' boys who aren't jetting off somewhere with their families for Christmas and will be instead spending it on campus, with him. One in particular is rowdy, wise beyond his years Angus (newcomer Dominic Sessa) and the two clash royally at first. Now from the trailers I almost expected something overly treacly and cloying but Payne and his actors have something far more organic, earned and realistic in mind in terms of the drama. These two connect on a level that unfolds situationally as it would in real life, and as an empty holiday stretch gives them ample time to get to know each other, the setting aside of one's differences and eventual bond feels valid and important. Da'Vine Joy Randolph gives brilliant supporting work as the school's head chef who has her own tragedy she's dealing with and tags along with these two on their introspective Yuletide misadventures. With gauzy, cozy cinematography, a soundtrack of subtly well placed Christmas carols and a script that levels with us and its characters every step of the way, this is dramatic storytelling at its best, and one of the finest films of that (sometimes) most wonderful time of the year.
Review of The Holdovers
