Movie Review: ‘The Holdovers’ Offers Holiday Nostalgia and Wholesomeness

Alexander Payne, director of The Holdovers out this month, is 62 years old, and would have been only nine in 1970 when this film takes place. But the feature successfully looks and feels so much like the kind of movies made during that time period, that it’s clear the man did his homework on how stories and pictures from the era were produced.

From the old-time film studio fanfares and opening credits to the pseudo-celluloid film grain to the snowy New England location, it seems like we’re watching a Mike Nichols or Hal Ashby mid-budget dramedy.

The Holdovers reunites Payne with one of his favorite male leads, Paul Giamatti, this time as a no-nonsense curmudgeon history professor, Paul Hunham, at an all-boys Catholic boarding school in the countryside of Massachusetts.

Paul is tricked into taking over responsibilities for the “holdover” of students who are staying behind on campus during winter break. One of the five kids is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), whose mom informs him the day before he’s scheduled to leave that she and her new husband are going on their honeymoon for the holidays.

The cafeteria manager, Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), is also sticking around not long after her son, and one of the school’s graduates, was killed while fighting in the Vietnam War. Carrie Preston co-stars as a fellow academy faculty member who flirts with Paul, while Darby Lee-Stack appears as a local girl Angus meets at a holiday party.

The script for The Holdovers was written by David Hemingson and is one of the rare Payne films to not feature the director as a writer. While classic film lovers will obviously see the New Hollywood influence on the direction and atmosphere of The Holdovers, there is still plenty of Payne’s recognizable tone and technique that we remember from his hits like Election (1999), Sideways (2004) and Nebraska (2013). This alongside Hemingson’s screenplay naturally balances the comic relief and serious moments in Holdovers.

Giamatti is great as usual and sends in one of the best lead performances of the year featuring his typical wit and sardonicism, while Randolph gives a softer, more reserved touch as the moderator between the professor and the troubled teen. Newcomer Sessa is most impressive and holds a similar presence to Dustin Hoffman in Nichols’ The Graduate (1967) and Bud Cort in Ashby’s Harold & Maude (1971), and could easily jump into a full time acting career if he wishes.

Along with a soundtrack that’s a mix of Christmas staples and popular 1960s-1970s acts including Badfinger, Shocking Blue, Paul Simon and Cat Stevens, The Holdovers marks that sweet spot for both nostalgia and wholesomeness this season.