Goodbye, Mr. Chips. The Blackboard Jungle. Dead Poets’ Society. Dangerous Minds. Hollywood history is chock full of films about teachers trying to connect with their students. Even as The Holdovers plays with that trope—this teacher has little apparent desire to connect with his students—it still lands solidly in that well-trod place where teacher and student inspire each other to become a better version of themselves. Even if The Holdovers is not all that original, it doesn’t need to be. Fully-realized characters brought to life by tremendously gifted actors coupled with lots of 70s’ nostalgic charm makes The Holdovers a wonderful addition to the genre.
The venerable Paul Giamatti, (reuniting with director Alexander Payne for the first time since 2004’s Sideways) is Paul Hunham, a classics teacher at a New England boys’ prep school. It’s Christmas break 1970, and it has fallen to Mr. Hunham—the very definition of a “curmudgeon”—to remain on campus to watch over the “holdovers”—the kids who aren’t able to go home for the holidays. This group includes Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa), an older student who has had problems in other schools and whose new stepfather—with whom his mom is honeymooning instead of being with him—has threatened military school. Through circumstances, Mr. Hunham, Angus, and head cook Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph of Dolemite is My Name) wind up the only ones left at the school. The three form a bond as each of them come out of their shells—Mr. Hunham of his loneliness and regret, Dominic of his anger and rejection, and Mary of her profound grief at losing her son in Vietnam—and grow to care for and respect each other as each pushed the other to stretch themselves beyond their misfortune.
The Holdovers is greatly helped by its sense of time and place. The films revels in its early 70s setting. Even before it starts, it throws up an old MPAA rating card and 70s red and black Focus Features’ logo created just for the film. From its film stock to its credits, you feel the setting before anyone has spoken a word. All the technical work—design, cinematography, sound, and a bunch of 70s tracks from everyone artists like Badfinger and Cat Stevens—all work well together to give the film a tactile grasp of its era. As for place, I’ve never been to Boston in the fall, winter, or otherwise, but The Holdovers makes me feel like New England at Christmas is home, even at a boarding school. Everything about the look and sound of the movie feels so, so right.
The other great strength of the movie is the performances of its three leads. Giamatti is great as always. It would be so easy to rely on caricature for a role like this. But even from the start, Mr. Hunham’s blustet and annoyance at everything is hiding deeper truths about a man who has achieved far less than he had hoped for. Sessa—found during an open casting call—more than holds his own with Giamatti. His mix of overcompensating snarkiness and suppressed insecurity give us one of the most authentic portrayals of being a teen this year. Randolph—an early Oscar favorite—may be the strongest of them all. Her pain in palpable, yet—as a woman often does—so is her care for those around her. Each actor feels so at home with each other and makes each other better. They are all amazing.
A classic feel, a great cast doing great work, and a heartwarming story with an edge. The Holdovers has much to recommend and to love. It is one of the best films of 2023.
The Holdovers is streaming on Peacock.
(Photo credit: Focus Features)