An unexpected horror gripped the film community in 2017: Alexander Payne, the brilliant indie director and novel-adapting genius known for Election, About Schmidt, Sideways, and The Descendants, finally made a bad movie. Downsizing, starring Matt Damon, failed to please any aspect of the film community, resulting in a universally genuine worst film for Payne’s filmography. His latest film, The Holdovers, bounces right back into familiar Payne territory, ranking among his best work and occupying the rare genre of “Christmas film that works any time during the year.”
‘The Holdovers’ Premise
A prep school during the winter of 1970 holds over only a handful of students unable to make it home for the holidays. Among the residents staying over the break is a grumpy, disliked history teacher; a cook grieving the recent loss of her son; and a bright yet troublemaking student. Despite their differences, the trio share an experience over these two weeks that will stick with them forever.
A Modern Yuletide Favorite
As a visually lo-fi period film, The Holdovers has an instantly universal feel that draws the viewer warmly in despite its alienating central characters. The lighthearted, adult-aimed humor combined with heavy, relatable themes leaves an accessible yet meaningful impression, never rewarding the characters for their elitism; however, acts of generosity, understanding, and education about the hard facts of life go a long way. As these folks of different backgrounds mingle and bond, they each get a takeaway message individual to their character arc, finding nuance in otherwise simple, straightforward plotting.
At the center is Paul Giamatti, who has to overcome his ridiculously curmudgeonly exterior over the film’s two hours. His role as the antithesis of a good educator and mentor to his students makes for hilarious comedy, and his performance of TV producer David Hemingson’s antihero character reads as a realistic development rather than overly sentimental drivel.
Dominic Sessa, Paul Giamatti, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in ‘The Holdovers’
Alexander Payne’s Career of Sad Sacks
In another director’s hands, The Holdovers might have stayed too saturated in Christmas cheer to be anything but a holiday movie. Payne adheres to his seasoned style here, keeping tropes balanced to fit whichever experience you hope to get from the film. Since his breakout film Election, where Matthew Broderick plays a petty high school teacher trying to simultaneously knock an overachieving student down a peg and cheat on his wife, no one has equaled Payne’s vision of pathetic men in terms of hilarity and meaningfully engrossing depictions.
With engaging performances, dialogue, and perfect control of the earnest and silly sides of the script, Payne turns in a late-career essential that will have film nerds and casual viewers equally in stitches. Whether or not it results in a moving experience is up to your susceptibility for heartwarming cinema, but differing degrees of enjoyment for all viewers await in The Holdovers.
The Holdovers is streaming now on Peacock.
