The Holdovers
2023
*****
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston, Brady Hepner, Ian Dolley, Jim Kaplan, Michael Provost, Andrew Garman, Naheem Garcia
While the students and staff of a New England boarding school go home for Christmas, a grumpy and unpopular history professor is forced to supervise the students who stay behind. Alexander Payne's humane and melancholic comedy reminds us not to judge the book by its cover. All three of the main characters (professor, student, and cook) are troubled and difficult, but wonderfully layered individuals. This charming, funny, and moving film is set in 1970, and Payne has gone all in for the look and feel of the time. It starts with the retro production company logos and the title scene, and continues throughout the film in its visual style and folky soundtrack. All the performances are wonderful, but Da'Vine Joy Randolph was singled out for an Academy Award.
