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.

Dennis Has a Podcast: Oscars Recap and The Artist

Once again I join Dennis on Dennis Has a Podcast to discuss a wide variety of film topics such as our reaction to the Oscar telecast, how previous Oscar winners have held up over time, The Artist, George Clooney, Alexander Payne, Adam Sandler's career choices, upcoming 2012 releases and why you never seem to see a "Best of" list from me at the end of the year. As always, it was a lot of fun.

Listen here (54:41)

 ...And don't forget to check out previous DHAP episodes on itunes.

The Descendants

Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster, Nick Krause, Amara Miller 
Running Time: 115 min.
Rating: R

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

It's rare to see a movie as informed by its setting as Alexander Payne's The Descendants. Watching, you get the impression the story couldn't have taken place at all if it didn't take place in Hawaii. The characters wouldn't feel what they feel, do what they do and the entire mood, atmosphere and pacing would seem off. The Hawaii we're presented with here isn't one we've been made aware of before, at least in movies. The opening voiceover even let's us know that much. It's more depressing than exotic, so unlike the vacation destination we've seen on postcards that it doesn't even register as the same place. If only Hawaiian locals only went to the beach all day, rode waves and had drinks with little umbrellas in them like we we've been told they do for years. This is the first time it hasn't been depicted as pure paradise and in doing so Payne fittingly humanizes this film's setting as much his characters, showing real flaws and imperfections that somehow lead to a greater appreciation of both.

While people who live in paradise still have problems, they're hopefully not as big as the ones plaguing real estate lawyer Matt King, played by George Clooney in a dialed down performance sure to net him another Oscar nomination. With his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) laying in a coma after a boating accident, the wealthy lawyer has been entrusted to a large, lucrative piece of land passed down from his ancestors. With the state and his family waiting on pins and needles he must decide as sole trustee whether the family should sell to cash in or hold on to the property. Coming off the bench as the "back-up parent" he has to deal with his two daughters. 10-year-old foul-mouthed Scottie (Amara Miller) is acting out at school and at home while her angry, rebellious 17-year-old sister Alex (Shailene Woodley) returns from boarding school, giving Matt the shocking news that their mom was cheating on him.

Moving at a methodical, appropriately laid-back pace for most of its running time the story really starts finding its rhythm when the big revelation about Elizabeth's infidelity arrives. That's the turning point. From then on the story takes some twists and turns with the land sale figuring into the personal story in a way that's unanticipated without feeling forced. What's interesting is that despite being on life support in a hospital bed the entire and never even being seen in flashback the narrative forces the viewer to form strong feelings about Elizabeth as we watch those closest to her react to the news of her betrayal. It wouldn't be off base to say that the more we learn about her the less we like, to the point I could honestly say I hated her. That's a strange declaration to make when the offender in question is already laying in a coma but that feeling seems to be exactly what Payne is going for since the characters struggle with that as well. Matt is in shock, plagued by the insatiable urge to track down the man she was cheating with, a sleazy island realtor named Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard, a long way from Scream). Or rather it's assumed he's sleazy from a single fact and it's kind of funny how it seems we know everything about him before the actual introduction, or want to believe we do.

The quest to find Speer turns the movie into a road trip with Matt, Scottie, Alex and her dim-witted boyfriend Sid (Nick Krause), who shoots off wildly inappropriate comments at the worst moments. They have to contend with Matt's grumpy father-in-law Scott (Robert Forster) who blames him for his daughter's accident just as he faces increasing pressure from cousin Hugh (Beau Bridges) and his extended family about the land sale.  Anticipation builds for the family's eventual encounter with Speer, a meeting that somehow surpasses expectations. That's when things really get crazy. And I haven't given anything away. It all could have easily played like a soap opera (which it kind of is) but there's a brutal honesty and truthfulness to the scenes that keep it from going into shallow territory. It's a thin line to walk but Payne never crosses it, nor do his actors.

Sad and weary-eyed, wearing old man khakis and flowery shirts, Clooney downplays the movie star charisma he's famous for, just as he did in last year's The American. As a parent completely defeated by life, he brings a depressed vulnerability and hangdog physical presence to Matt we're not used to seeing from the actor. If it's not his best performance, it's sure way up there and will easily net him another Oscar nomination. And if he wins I can't say I'd have a problem with it. For all the jokes about his popularity and "Mr. Hollywood" persona these past few years, he's been taking on more meaningful projects and pushing himself in different directions as an actor, refusing to ever take the quick payday when he very easily could.

If Clooney does win, he can probably give cut the statue at its waist and give half to Shailene Woodley, who rises to the near impossible task of making us not only understand Alex, but see how her actions could actually be justified under the circumstances. Saddled with the film's most emotional scenes, she slowly peels the layers away to reveal Alex is far from just the spoiled brat we'd assume from her initial introduction. Equally strong and vulnerable, she gives a beyond her years performance that never tells the audience what to think or feel and seems in perfect harmony with the script. That she's only been known until now for starring in ABC Family's The Secret Life of The American Teenager, of all things, stands as proof that undiscovered talent can come from anywhere at any time, and all it takes is one performance in the right project.

Lillard's cheating Brian Speer doesn't build up as much disdain as comatose Elizabeth, at least until we meet his wife. Then viewers will want to wring his neck. That's because she's played by Judy Greer. Unarguably the most underrated, instantly recognizable actress working today, she's finally freed here from the shackles of the "best friend" in romantic comedies as she steps up to the plate in a third act dramatic role that isn't necessarily any larger than those those, but ten times more complex. It's difficult to get into without spoilers but you can argue the story doesn't fully register until Greer arrives, going toe-to-toe with Clooney and turning what could have been a cliche of the scorned wife into the character I walked away caring what happened to most. Here's hoping this part helps break her through into the leading lady ranks where she's belonged for a long time.  I'd say I wished the entire movie were about her, but it in many ways it actually is. Or rather it's about how sometimes a life situation gets so bad you're left with no choice but to let go, rather than risk the anger completely consuming and destroying you.

It's becoming increasingly difficult going into a movie knowing it's a big awards contender and hearing about Oscars even before seeing the results on screen. While the problem should be that it puts more pressure on the film and sets unreasonable expectations I instead frustratingly find that the opposite is true. These movies almost seem to have an unfair advantage from the start since it's common knowledge that the best films are usually reserved for the final two months of the year. This makes it easier for the movie but a bigger challenge for the critic who has to throw out all that other information out the window strengths and weaknesses.

The Descendants isn't perfect, but it's close. Coming from someone who thinks voiceovers often get a bad rap, I still have done without Clooney's over-explanantory narration since it just doesn't point out anything we can't see for ourselves. Also, a noble attempt to develop the Sid character doesn't seem to register like it should. This is the first film to use exclusively authentic Hawaiian music in lieu of a traditional movie score and it makes a big difference in terms of conveying mood and atmosphere, even if there's this small part of me that wanted one huge music moment. For some reason it seemed like a classic Cat Stevens song would have fit in perfectly. It's just that kind of movie.

It's still unclear how it ranks against Payne's previous efforts like Sideways, Election and About Schmidt but it already feels weightier than those and more substantial. There's something about it's style and approach that stays with you even though the story, with a few surprise exceptions, is fairly universal and basic. Given it's been 7 years since his last film, it's a credit to how skilled he is at telling human, truthful stories that the wait felt even longer than that. In a way this is my favorite type of film: an intimate writer-driven piece interested in exploring real people dealing with actual problems. It sounds like a cliche, but in the right hands it can be the most satisfying form of entertainment because it tends to stick around after you've left the theater. It's easy to see what all the fuss is about since The Descendants is the kind of intelligent adult drama that's increasingly hard to come by.