After their 2004 collaboration in road-trip drama Sideways, director Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti have reunited for new 70s-set festive comedy-drama, The Holdovers. Once again playing a teacher, Giamatti portrays the much-loathed Mr. Hunham, a faculty member at prestigious private boys school Barton Academy. With the school term all but wrapped up, the students begin heading home for the holidays with the exception of those who begrudgingly find themselves boarding over the break – the titular Holdovers. To make matters worse for these unlucky few, it’s Hunham who’s left in charge of supervising them, removing any chance of Christmas cheer in the process.
Amongst those joining him are Angus (Dominic Sessa), a rebellious yet gifted student who’s unexpectedly forced to board when his mother doesn’t collect him; and Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the school’s cafeteria manager who’s grieving the recent loss of her son to the Vietnam War. This trio proves rather unlikely seasonal company for each other, but that’s the fun of it all, and screenwriter David Hemingson takes full advantage of this simple, yet highly amusing premise.
With the school’s Christmas tree removed, the heating cut off to the dorms and regular enforced study time, the only hint of festive spirit left on campus is Hunham’s personal supply of Jim Beam whiskey, so understandably, the Barton boys aren’t feeling any Christmas cheer. This is quite ironic, though, considering what immense privilege they come from. But Hemingson’s screenplay ensures that plenty of fun is had at their expense. The Holdovers is wonderfully self-aware, offering a pointed and highly amusing commentary on both its private school setting and the privileged students who attend it. This criticism takes aim at those at the very top who manipulate the system for their own gain, and those who – even if they don’t realise it – unfairly benefit from it. This makes way for some especially damning observations and ample hilarity directed at Hemingson’s often unwitting targets.
However, this commentary isn’t really what The Holdovers is about, as at its core it’s a far more compassionate film than a cruel one. Jibes aside, the screenplay is still brimming with comedic flair. Much of this comes courtesy of the fractious teacher-student relationship between Hunham and Angus. Required to endure each other’s presence while confined to the now cold and vacant corridors of their academic setting, their disdain for each other becomes increasingly frosty. But these rising tensions are simultaneously entertaining, riotously so, in fact, with one notable sequence of physical comedy proving a particular highlight. And with Mary on hand to dish out her blunt cynicism and comical remarks as well, The Holdovers becomes effortlessly watchable as these three unwilling companions attempt to get through Christmas anyway they can.
Of this trio, unsurprisingly, it’s Giamatti who’s the immediate standout. He comfortably brings Hunham’s strict code of ethics and sarcastic wit to life in the film’s opening moments, conveying the character’s infamous reputation among students and faculty with ease. Yet, as the film goes on and more of his character is revealed, Giamatti infuses a real humanity to the role, offsetting Hunham’s initial abrasiveness. It’s truly one of Giamatti’s finest performances to date.
Despite this, it’s actually newcomer Dominic Sessa who ends up impressing the most. As with the help of Hemingson’s excellent character writing, Sessa affords Angus the perfect balance of defiance that allows him to demonstrate his brattish behaviour, but crucially, without becoming irredeemable to the audience or those around him. There’s a certain charm to his disobedience, but also a naivety, and Sessa’s layered performance ensures that Angus’ ensuing coming-of-age story is a compelling one truly worth caring about.
It’s similarly easy to care for Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s wonderful turn as Mary. Randolph brings a remarkably earnest quality of emotion to her performance and grounds the trio of characters in a necessary sense of perspective. Each of these three, thoroughly lived-in performances are tremendous in their own right, but when The Holdovers allows them to share the same space, the film is at its most gleeful.
This same sense of glee is also present in the festive feel and authentic 70s aesthetic that Payne achieves through his direction, evoking a rich sense of nostalgia in the process. But with this, he also unlocks the delicate duality of this season, providing the story with a particular poignancy for audiences and characters. Isolation and loneliness are awful at the best of times, but at Christmas? It doesn’t bear thinking about. However, for his characters, that’s ultimately what they must do, and The Holdovers sees its trio confront uncomfortable truths, reflect on their pasts, and consider what their futures might entail.
The series of thoughtful conversations, emotional interactions and unexpected bonds that follow take on the power to thaw even the coldest of hearts, ushering in The Holdovers as a new festive favourite that’s well worth making a yearly tradition.
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