The Holdovers

Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Carrie Preston, Brady Hepner, Ian Dolley, Jim Kaplan, Michael Provost, Andrew Garman, Naheem Garcia, Stephen Thorne, Gillian Vigman, Tate Donovan, Darby Lily Lee-Stack
Running Time: 133 min.
Rating: R   

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Alexander Payne's The Holdovers evokes nostalgia for a time and place audiences needn't actually experience to appreciate, with a uniqueness that transcends its specific era, connecting in deeper ways. From the moment it opens with that classic Universal logo and retro title cards, you know you're in capable hands, with a story built around three abandoned but entirely relatable souls at a crossroads. Intimately conceived and constructed, the lack of huge surprises or earth shattering plot turns shouldn't trick anyone into underestimating what Payne accomplishes here, which is a whole lot.

In a welcome return to form, the director summons the tone and spirit of Hal Ashby to craft a humanistic character study with elements that may remind some of films like The Last Detail, The Paper Chase, Good Will Hunting and 2000's criminally underappreciated Wonder Boys. Reuniting with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti, Payne also captures the look and feel of the Christmas season better than any holiday set movie in years, with the actor playing a curmudgeonly character hamstrung by his own regrets and mistakes. It's the type of role he's perfected, getting a fresh spin with a witty, observant script by David Hemingson that carries all the freewheeling rhythms of a great undiscovered novel. 

It's December 1970 and Paul Hunham (Giamatti) is a strict, cranky history professor at Barton Academy boarding school in New England, where he once attended. Disliked by students and faculty for his tough grading and elitist attitude, he's roped into supervising the "holdover" students stuck on campus for the winter break, one of whom is 17-year-old Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a bright troublemaker whose mother left him to go on her honeymoon with his new stepfather. Joining Angus is obnoxious bully Teddy (Brady Hepner), Barton quarterback Jason (Michael Provost), son of Mormon missionaries, Alex (Ian Dolley) and Korean exchange student Ye-Joon (Jim Kaplan). 

Also staying behind with Hunham is head cook Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), whose son, a former Barton student, was killed in Vietnam. But when an unexpected development alters Hunham's agenda, he finds himself stuck with a rebellious Angus, who pushes back against his disciplinary tactics. As the still grieving Mary slowly punctures holes in Hunham's gruff exterior, the three attempt to make the best of it, their misadventures leading them to learn as much about themselves as each other. 

The film's first section is its most comedic with Hunham treating these students' stay as an unofficial detention complete with designated study sessions, all the while ignoring they're already miserable enough spending the holiday apart from their families. Still looked down upon by the academy's headmaster (Andrew Garman) for refusing to pass a legacy student, only the school's sweet, peppy administrator Miss Crane (Carrie Preston) seems unbothered by Hunham's grouchiness or eccentric tendency to turn normal, everyday conversation into pretentious, navel gazing lectures.  

Of the many joys found in Giamatti's turn is how he subtly allows Hunham's sensitivity to seep through the sarcasm and snobbishness, signaling how most of his issues have little to do with these students, including the well connected one he failed for ethical reasons. To an extent this act reflects Hunham's decency and a desire to do the right thing, however warped his intentions come across to those who know him. An ivy league intellectual who's often right, he's always eager to rub that in, finding an ideal nemesis in the underachieving Angus, who carries some baggage of his own. 

In his feature debut, Sessa gives a breakthrough performance that gradually gathers steam as we realize the full extent of Angus's plight, which shatters Hunham's preconceived notions about this kid's supposedly charmed upbringing. He and Giamatti make for ideal sparring partners, their characters' shaky relationship growing even more interesting as they tear each other down, eventually reaching an impasse before meeting on a level neither expects. 

Da'Vine Joy Randolph is quietly devastating as Mary, this bereaved mother plowing through the pain with humor and honesty, determined not to look or be treated like a victim. Trying to play mediator while keeping it together, her eventual breakdown in a heart wrenching party scene is difficult to watch in the realest way. She also sees right through Hunham and his half baked dreams, recognizing he needs to cut these kids a break and get a life. Her sincere advice is so plain spoken even he can't help but begrudgingly respect it.  

Their stories converge on a road trip where Hunham comes face-to-face with past failures, Angus confronts the harsh reality of a family that doesn't want him and Mary tries to terms with her son's death. It could have come across as syrupy or clichéd, but Payne masterfully keeps everything moving breezily along, even during the heaviest stretches. The film ultimately comes down to a moral dilemma that sees Hunham weigh the cost of again sticking it to the man, potentially sacrificing himself for something greater. While none of their situations will magically improve overnight, we get the impression they've set themselves on a course where it could.

Describing this as a "70's comedy" isn't meant to merely time stamp the decade during which it's set. Payne goes much further than that, to the point you could really mistake it for a film made and released in that era. For this, credit should extend to the production and costume design teams, Eigil Bryld's cinematography and a carefully curated soundtrack that mixes popular Christmas music with lightening in a bottle hits from Badfinger, Paul Simon and Cat Stevens.  

The Holdovers gloriously captures that brief period when you encounter people who impact or alter the trajectory of your life in ways that aren't apparent until much later. It's smallish in scope, but never slight, marinating in the mind long after its credits roll, drawing you back to the memorable couple of weeks these three lonely people share. Sure to reverberate with each subsequent viewing, it should only gain in prominence and appreciation, carrying all the markers of a perennial holiday classic.