2023 (USA) (Drama/Comedy)
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Director: Alexander Payne
The Holdovers is set on a New England prep school campus in the 1970s. A curmudgeonly crosspatch teacher (Giamatti) is reluctantly responsible for supervising the students unable to return home for Christmas. This year he’s forced to cohabit with one particularly rebellious pupil, the brainy troubled Angus (Sessa) and the school’s head cook, both of whom are struggling with unseasonable personal circumstances.
This winner of two Golden Globes is an uplifting, beautifully acted film about the family we are stuck with and the friends we choose.
A deeply pleasurable film – funny and rueful. It draws rich comedy from the pain and humour of thwarted lives, whilst lingering thoughtfully on the sadness of Christmas for many.
(2hr 13min)