I outright refuse to believe this film was not made in the 70s, put in the vault and then just released today. From look, style, sound and performance, this was as authentic as it gets, without crossing the gimmick threshold. There is of course no film in just a movie that looks and sounds like the 70s, so both Alexander Payne and David Hemingson decide to bring a heartwarming and funny story to go along with it, making the next alt Christmas classic.
The story isn’t reinventing the wheel, with a standard unlikely bond between characters “trapped” in a defined place. Starting off at Barton Academy (a prestigious boarding school for the rich and wealthy, but mostly for the spoiled and arrogant), at the cusp of winter break, with that all too familiar buzzing of excitement and anticipation of their ski trips. Although I can’t exactly relate to the ski trip element, my anticipation was to eat, lie down and watch an embarrassing amount of TV.
Even without my direct relatability to these rich teens, I did feel their excitement, coupled with the disappointment and accepted abandonment that the ones who were staying. Last minute, Angus is told by his mother that he has to stay, joining the four boys stuck with Mr Hunham, the history teacher with a reputation of strictness and a tendency for harsh bluntness.
The boys bunk together in the infirmary, the only building which is being heated for the break. At this point, there is an expectation that we’re going to get a pseudo-Breakfast Club type of film. Quickly, that idea is squashed, with one of the boy's fathers coming by and collecting them all except Angus to go on a Ski trip.
We’re now left with Angus, Mr Hunham and the head of the cafeteria, Mary Lamb. Mary has recently lost her son, a Baron Academy alumnus of recent years.
I will admit that at this point I was concerned that the film was going to lose a little bit of steam with such a sudden change in the dynamic it had just set up. These three were not the most apt at conversation from the beginning, with neither Mr Hunham or Angus having any interest in being in the school with each other, and Mary processing an unimaginable grief.
I couldn't have felt more opposite by the end, relishing in their connection and feeling every single emotion one could feel. Those are some high compliments from me, being well known to have never dared to shed a tear in my lifetime.
It’s so nice to see a film like this get the praise it deserves, especially in the acting department. The three central performances of this film anchor it down to one that you sink into contentment of the environment of the film. Paul Giamatti is disgustingly likeable in this role, with so much hidden depth to the character revealing itself slowly, you see a fully realised character with dimensions to him and reasons for how he acts, even if not explicitly told. Not news to anyone, but he was born to play old men who are a little bit sad and sassy to those around them, but underneath it all, have more heart than anyone else in the film.
Dominic Sessa feels the most plucked out of the 70s for me, capturing the time perfectly in his delivery and also the look they have given him. It looks like a first time thing for him, which is stupidly impressive.
Finally, we have an emotionally rich and endearing performance from Da’Vine Joy Randolph who I have only seen in The Idol before this. She carries a lot of the early emotional depth of the film, learning to live without her son at a time when family and tradition are everywhere you look.
This theme of family and togetherness is pretty heavily featured in the film, with the setting in both year and time of year. Today, we’re a lot more conscious of those who may not have ideal situations around the holidays. Of course it is still everywhere, but there is at least some consideration there. The 70s were the wild west of western ideals. It was Christmas time, and you better shut up and like it. No sadness at Jesus’ birthday you cretin.
This film takes that idea head on, with a contemporary idea of family forming at the end and a bond between an unlikely trio.
It is anything but contemporary in its technical aspects, harkening back to the glory days of cumbersome cameras and deeply manual analog methods. This pays off though, with an authentic and nostalgic look to it, not only in surface level look but the zooms, angles and transitions from scene to scene. We even get a page wipe from scene to scene at some points, what joy.
The sound is crunchy and authentic to the time too, with the smooth static of the old style microphones, not distracting or even something that took me time to get used to.
Music is surprisingly also faithful to the times, even in its placement to help guide a montage or a quiet moment.
The Holdovers is scheduling itself for a regular rewatch in my years. I look forward to putting this on around Christmas time with my family, to enjoy the cosy nostalgia for a place and time I’ve never existed in. The film encapsulates it’s era and translates emotions so well that I felt the fully realised world all around me while watching. The film is being distributed by Focus FIlms, and I hope they push it as far as it can go. I know this film has a universal appeal and I look forward to more people seeing that.
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