The Holdovers
In 2004, Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti won the hearts of cranky introverts everywhere with a film about middle aged relationships and the inferiority of Merlot. They reunite 20 years later for the Hal Ashby-coded The Holdovers, an indie crowd pleaser (and Christmas movie?) so endearing it’ll crack even the most emotionally frigid misanthrope. It’s a welcome return from Payne, who muses that he’s “been making ‘70s movies my whole career,” a statement heavily confirmed by the film’s trailer that’s narrated by the kind of nostalgic voiceover 21st Century Hollywood forced us to forget. Muse and recent Golden Globe-winner Paul Giamatti makes curmudgeoning a sport as Paul Hunham, an Ancient History teacher at a prestigious New England prep school with absolutely no qualms in failing the underperforming rich sons of school donors. Whether it’s the harshness of his grading, his rogue glass eye or his piscatorial scent, it’s safe to say he’s not well-liked. And so this break, he’ll have to stay in.
Barton Academy, 1970. Far from the worst place to holdover for Christmas but for Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa) and a small group of other students under Paul’s watchful (though they’re not quite sure which one) eye, circumstances could be better. His mother cancels their planned trip to Saint Kitts because she’d rather spend her holidays with her latest husband, a harsh lesson for Angus on the difference between the family we have versus the family we choose. Catering this cold, lonely Chrissy is Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the school’s head cook whose only child, a Barton scholarship student, died while serving in Vietnam. For the first few days Paul does his Scroogey best to destroy the holiday spirit and extend the academic term, but when one boy’s father arrives by chopper and agrees to let the rest of the kids tag along on their ski trip, all but Angus (whose mother is unreachable to give her blessing) get to check out early. It’s just like being stuck at Hogwarts when all your friends have permission slips to go party in Hogsmeade, but without the looming threat of a dark wizard.
What follows is an expected arc executed in unexpected ways. It’s the hardened grump having his edges softened through forced socialising with people different to him, bringing his insecurities to the surface to be properly dealt with. It’s the affluent kid - whose parents don’t actually care about him - learning to look elsewhere for adult role models. It’s the behind-the-scenes matriarch who’s grief has internalised and needs to escape for her to move on. While the characters on paper could seem cliché they are transformed by magnetic performances from the three leads and David Hemingson’s precise, witty script that draws from his own experiences studying at a prestigious boarding school.
After his parents’ divorce, Hemingson moved to the prep school where his father taught in the hopes that it would bring them closer. Many of the characters in The Holdovers are composites of those he met during those years, while Paul was inspired by his uncle Earl. Earl’s quiet, everyday heroism and bitey quips served as inspiration for many of the film’s zingers and with such triumphs as “the equivalent to penis cancer”, “hormonal vulgarians” and “a genuine troglodyte”, it’s hard to choose a favourite. Harder still is imagining any actor who could’ve pulled them off with the naturalistic confidence of Giamatti, who himself comes from a family of teachers and academics and is well-versed in the acerbic tone deployed by those with something to prove. Paul is the kind of man whose wit is thrilling to witness from a distance but probably quite insufferable to face head on. But it’s his relationship with his brightest and most difficult student that takes him from master to mentor.
That a senior from the nearby Deerfield Academy who had never acted on camera before could go head-to-head with Paul Giamatti and hold his own is quite remarkable, and Dominic Sessa deserves massive praise for his contribution to the dynamic of the trio. So, too, does Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who took home the Golden Globe for Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and whose performance in HBO’s regrettable The Idol was the only thing forcing me to keep watching. Mary’s initial stoicism in grief isn’t admirable, it’s just really sad, and she’s a character who is thankfully given the opportunity to slash it in two during a pivotal house party scene. The three holdovers are each facing a different ghost and it’s scary and overwhelming, but at least they’ve got company.
That ‘70s Glow
The Holdovers’ complete commitment to the era it emulates is felt in more than its aesthetic, which includes vintage MPAA ratings and redesigned logos that the studios liked enough to use in several other film releases. Its tone, pacing and soundtrack seem to exist in the same universe as Harold and Maude. And that’s no coincidence; Payne screened it, along with Ashby’s The Last Detail and The Landlord and Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon prior to commencement of production to inform the crew of the “texture of photography and production design” he had in mind. What could’ve come off as an exercise in mimicry instead creates a new classic in its own right. When the film finished, I walked out feeling a deep sense of warmth – the kind you get at Christmas after overindulging in food and drink and getting briefly depressed, before perking up for a final Baileys with the people you love.
There are several films out in cinemas this week. There’s a Mean Girls reboot, there’s Jason Statham apparently becoming an apiarist and there’s Fallen Leaves, playing at Perth Festival until Sunday. But if you want a film that’ll leave you with a big stupid grin on your face, then The Holdovers will go down a treat.
Verdict:
☆☆☆☆½
The Holdovers is in cinemas Thursday 11th Jan and pairs well with a secret flask of leftover Chrissy spirits.
