The Holdovers (2023)

The films of Alexander Payne usually feature a few things. Typically there is a male lead, somewhere in their middle ages, quite often kicked around by life and verging on full-blown curmudgeonism. Whether being played by Matthew Broderick ('Election' 1996), Bruce Dern ('Nebraska' 2013) or George Clooney ('The Descendants' 2011), there tends to be a similar protagonist at the core of most of his work. The most memorable of these characters, in my book, was Miles Raymond - portrayed brilliantly by Paul Giamatti in 2004's brilliant 'Sideways' and Giamatti makes his return in this film to team up with Payne once again. 

Here he plays a lecturer at a a prestigious boarding school somewhere in deepest WASP country, USA. He is a professor of ancient history; an extremely well-read, authoritarian presence who seems to deeply resent the privileged children he is being forced to attempt to educate. He is also known throughout the school as "Wall-Eye" due to a wonky ocular situation, for smelling of fish, and for living alone perpetually on-campus. All of which providing an ample springboard for Giamatti to do his thing. 

At this school, there are sometimes a small amount of boys who have to stay for Christmas (for one reason or another) and a teacher is designated to keep them safe for the festive season, in this case Giamatti. Through a variety of circumstances, the only boy staying this year is one Angus Tully, played by Dominic Sessa - making his film debut. There is also grieving mother and chief cook on campus, played Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and these three misfits have to learn to co-exist for the Christmas period while everyone else is away. 

There are remnants of The Shining which become immediately clear. Not least the snowy isolation of being tasked with looking after a massive, empty, building for a prolonged amount of time. But there are no scares here. Instead we spend time with these folk and learn how they tolerate each other during what is a difficult time for all three of them. Over the course of the film, the characters really begin to shine through and the reason for everyone's oddities and quirks become slowly clear. They learn from each other and, despite the circumstances and initially having seemingly nothing in common, somehow all manage to bond, despite this bizarre backdrop. 

At it's heart this is a Christmas movie and, when written in synopsis form, might sound like something you'd see on the Hallmark Channel staring some shovel-jawed muppets. However, in the hands of this director it becomes so much more. My contention has always been that Payne is one of the best directors working today and strikes me as Wes Anderson without the irritating and relentless pretense. Meaning that all of the craft, attention to detail and melancholy is always present, but put forward in a much less showy, more human way. His films unravel at their own pace, never pandering to style or trends of the day. In this case you slowly start to really care for the characters, all three of whom are absolutely outstanding in their roles. Considering it's his first role, Sessa plays his part magnificently. Giamatti is one of the finest actors working, so he is also brilliant. But an Oscar-winning turn from Da'Vine Joy Randolph probably steals the show. She is heartbreaking, funny, and soulful all at the same time. 

As is usually the case with his films, Payne takes us on a journey that is purely about complicated humans trying to negotiate the continual mindfuck that is life. It is heartfelt, funny and, by the end, incredibly poignant. As a period piece, it is superbly executed. Rivaling something like Tarantino's 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' for an authentic recreation of the 1970s (complete with vintage credit sequences at the start) and full of classic film-grain texture that really serves to draw you in, like a good log-fire on a winter day. It's not your typical Christmas film, and to simply throw it into that bucket is an exercise in inaccuracy because this is a well-written, beautifully shot, magnificently acted, film about the human condition. It rivals 'Sideways' as Payne's finest film. Only time will tell if it surpasses it. 

JB