'The Holdovers' Review: An Extraordinary Film About Ordinary People
Director Alexander Payne has said he was looking for a chance to reunite with ‘Sideways’ actor Giamatti. It took almost 20 years, but this film truly proves that good things come to those who wait.
Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunnam, a belligerent and hidebound teacher at a prestigious boarding school in 1970. It’s the holidays, and Hunnam is told that he must spend it babysitting four boys who are staying at the school. At the last minute, a fifth boy is forced by circumstance to stay behind at the school. Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) is an outspoken and impulsive rebel who alienates himself from almost everyone. The third lead of the film is Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the woman who manages the school’s kitchen.
It’s quickly established that Paul was once a student at this very same boarding school and has been teaching there for so long that the current headmaster (Andrew Garman) is one of his former students. He is also aware - and perversely proud - of the fact that he is openly despised by his students and fellow faculty alike. Mary is also bound to the school, though in her case it is because of a great personal tragedy which haunts her. Angus has no affection for the school, but it is his last chance to avoid military school and a likely enrolment for combat in Vietnam.
Paul, Angus, and Mary are all characters whose inner agony drives them into isolation, and now the holidays physically manifest that condition. They are also caught in a triangle of disdain and sympathy for each other. Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson excel at taking cliched characters - the rebel student, the stuffy professor, and the grounded cook - and turning the stereotypes on their heads. We see early on that the rebel, for all his defiance and smarmy attitude, is Hunnam’s best student. Hunnam is harsh on the students, but that’s because he refuses to mollycoddle rich and entitled brats. And the cook doesn’t exist solely to bring the other two together; the film gives her personal journey the attention it deserves. There is a hint of possible romance between her and a fellow employee (Naheem Garcia) which allows for one of the sweetest (and saddest) moments in the film.
It’s a very difficult task for films like this to balance that tightrope between making the audience laugh and cry, but one useful trick is to get them invested in the characters. The cast and crew of The Holdovers make that process seem effortless. None of the characters are always wrong or always right; they all have internal conflicts which they must try to overcome with each other’s help. Giamatti was born to play a character such as Paul Hunnam; he is a socially awkward eccentric who is far too self-aware of his own shortcomings. Randolph is simply brilliant; one of her best scenes is when Paul tries to be sweet to her, and she cheerfully delivers a harsh truth that provokes one of the biggest laughs in the film. And making his film debut, Sessa holds his own while acting alongside two seasoned thespians as Giamatti and Randolph, and that is no small feat. In a just world, all three will get Academy Award nominations for their performances.
While a lazier film would have Angus grow to see Paul as a father figure, or a mentor, this film is smarter than that. One of the best moments between these two characters is a scene where Paul finds a way to help Angus understand why the study of history is so important. Not only does it resonate with Angus, but it also resonates with the audience because Paul’s explanation, almost by accident, sums up how these characters begin to bond with each other.
At first, one might be tempted to compare The Holdovers to Sideways, especially considering Giamatti is once again playing a neurotic and highly opinionated teacher. But really, this film has a lot more in common with Good Will Hunting. Like that film, The Holdovers forces three distinct people together so they can learn from each other. There is no magical happy ending, false note, or easy resolution either: the story is realistic and bittersweet from start to finish, which creates a strange and relatable realism with the story.