The Holdovers

By Joanna Langfield

Mixing the savory and the sweet, Alexander Payne has given us a gift of a film.

Paul Giamatti slips into the role of a curmudgeonly New England prep school professor, the nasty kind who assigns the term final for after his students return from Christmas break. Pretty much everybody hates him and so, when he is tasked to stay on campus during the holiday vacation, to babysit the few students left with nowhere else to go, no one is happy. Except maybe the school’s cook, a wonderful Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who could use a diversion.

At first, the film feels similar to some of the other prep school pictures we’ve seen over the years. The people there are of privilege. Or, as we often find out, maybe not. But, as this collection of holdovers begins to disperse, and the film focuses on its three main characters, Payne brings us something new, and something very special. A road trip, which at first feels trivial, reveals not just new information, but wraps us all up in uncertain and surprising bonds that are so very much needed.

Payne and his Sideways star, Giamatti, are already on board with the cynicism and arch humor that have defined the filmmaker’s outstanding Election, Nebraska and, of course, Sideways. But when it feels that their hearts, buried beneath so much pain and fear, begin the thaw, that’s when we melt, too. Randolph adds much to the mix, as does a remarkable newcomer, Dominic Sessa, an actor who makes quite an impressive and assured debut.

I was surprised at the true, visceral response I had to this movie. Before it was over, I wasn’t just heart warmed, I felt relaxed, knowing I was in good hands, watching artists at top form, delivering us an entertainment brimming with wisdom and kindness. It’s a beautiful film I know I will want to watch again and again.