Christmas is universally known as the time where we come together with family and friends to celebrate the festivity and enjoy the holiday season; but for some, it’s quite possibly the worst time of year.
Directed by Alexander Payne, “The Holdovers” stars Paul Giamatti as the hated history teacher Paul Hunham, alongside Dominic Sessa as defiant student Angus Tully and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as the grieving school cook Mary Lamb. The film follows these three characters stuck together at their school, Barton Academy, and how they lean on each other to get through the holidays together.
In its simplest form, “The Holdovers” is about lonely people finding each other and bonding over their losses and solitary nature. Each character is equipped with an arsenal of flaws sparked by their unfortunate pasts, and the lead performances accentuate this.
Dominic Sessa brings it all in his debut performance, easily able to keep up with the likes of Giamatti and Randolph. The chemistry between the three of them, especially with Giamatti, bounces off the walls.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph is always a delight to see on screen with her oozing likability and charm, but when necessary she becomes an emotional tour de force, bringing the emotional weight needed to convey a powerful showcase for what it’s like to lose a loved one.
But perhaps the most important performance of the film belongs to Paul Giamatti, who is charmingly awkward but carries a biting wit as Paul. The bond that forms between Paul and Angus is incredibly endearing as they each learn not just about each other, but learn to grow beyond each other’s negative reputations and find an unlikely companionship that makes the movie as good as it is.
Another brilliant aspect of the movie is the way it holds up as a period piece. While set in 1970, the film still has a timeless feel to it, as if the events of the movie could have occurred at any point in time. Alexander Payne shot and presented the movie as if it was ripped straight from the 1970’s, with a desaturated color palette, grainy cameras and a noticeable downgrade in audio quality.
But the most important piece of the film is the handling of the themes. By using the Christmas season to accentuate the unfortunate situations of our three leads we see how, without the proper people surrounding you, a season known for togetherness becomes an isolating nightmare– where you are destined to suffer alone. But in “The Holdovers,” the few stuck in this lonely situation are able to find each other, learn more about one another and bond together. They make the best of their lonely position and lift each other up, making the season bearable for one another. “The Holdovers” is a very well-done film, as the movie’s greatest strengths lie with the endearing, relatable and realistic characters, along with the bond that forms between them. The movie beautifully handles its themes of finding companionship in shared loneliness. Not only is it a well-done story, it is also brought together by the backdrop of the Christmas season, which meshes well with the themes of the story. It is an absolute joy to watch, and it shows that even with all the barriers that we build between us, it is possible that even the most lonely of people can become lonely together.
Rating: 9/10
“The Holdovers” is now playing in theaters.
