Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, reviewed.

★★★★★

Bad Christmas films are something that generations will endure. Good Christmas films are something that generations will endear. Every year, bad Christmas films are watched (again), not enjoyed (again), and test patience (again). And then they will be watched the following year. Good Christmas films receive the same treatment, but they are enjoyed, and don’t test patience. Instead they leave a warm and fuzzy feeling permeating the soul, sometimes that feeling comes in the form of a sugary, sickly treat. But what’s even better than that is a warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from something that could only be described as the cinematic equivalent to the warmth of whisky doing it’s magic. This is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.

It’s 1970, and the Christmas season has arrived. The students of boarding school Barton Academy are getting ready to go home, except for the unlucky holdovers. Not only are they unlucky because they have to stay at school for Christmas, but designated curmudgeon of the school Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) has been assigned to role to supervise them. Paul and student Angus (Dominic Sessa) dive headfirst into a personality clash and a bond is found. Fill in the rest. Any kind of way of reciting this plot further would diminish the quality of the final product, for it reduces it to sounding like a dusty relic.

Giamatti, Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Mary are the trinity here, a holy trinity indeed. Every so often, an ensemble comes along that feel like they were always meant to be together. Like the soul mates of acting. The chemistry in this triangle works because they all get to be imperfect creatures, and all get to display their feelings. No one here feels dismissed. In other hands, some actors and filmmakers wouldn’t even try to look into the personality of Paul Hunham. A character who could have been written off as a mere grump is instead allowed to be a human being. Awards aren’t always the indication of good quality in this industry, but Giamatti delivers a career best performance. This is where he is meant to be, with his (acting) soul mates.

The vintage edge does not diminish The Holdovers of a luxury in having modern sensibilities. A sad truth can probably found in the knowledge that if this was indeed a product of the time it emulates, Randolph’s Mary would’ve probably been placed on the bench – only being brought out to play when the story revolving around Paul and Angus needed forward momentum. This film spits in the face of the magical Negro trope. Mary is provided with more distinction and personality than that. She may often be the peacemaker, but she too has her own life. With a well-realised life comes joy, pain, highs, and lows. Randolph refuses to just be the role of ‘alcoholic, grieving mother’, she gets to play with all of these joys and pains.

The Holdovers looks and sounds like a product of yesteryear. This was an artistic choice from Payne that could have been a useless gimmick with no purpose other than to be cool and quirky. It might be a gimmick, but it is hardly useless. The aesthetic operates as a overt self-awareness of the story’s characteristics. It’s almost like Payne knew the Hal Ashby and Dead Poets Society comparisons were going to arise, so why not take ownership of the similarity? It also allows the film to act as time capsule. “History is not simply the study of the past, it is an explanation of the present.” The Holdovers is a study of the past, but also has a grasp of the present mood.

Payne chose David Hemingson to craft the screenplay here, who will become a new name to look out for. One must adore a script that refuses to lower its own intelligence. Paul’s love of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is particularly amusing, as he decides it’s the perfect Christmas gift for all. Speaking of Meditations, Paul probably fancies himself a stoic, but his temper proves otherwise. As he is history teacher of profound knowledge, the references here come fast and come sharp. The high-level wit reminds one of Frasier, also cheekily playing with jargon of intellects.

We are encouraged to see things from different perspectives, and are encouraged to change how we perceive the problems of others. Paul says “I find the world a bitter and complicated place, and it seems to feel the same way about me. I think you and I have this in common” as he pours his heart out to Angus. How beautiful The Holdovers is – two souls with a shared bitterness about the world bond over this, and in doing so a bit of that bitterness vanishes. Just a bit.