The Holdovers
In selected cinemas
It’s fitting that I bumped into one of my old primary school teachers on the same day I was due to watch Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. That teacher, knowingly or otherwise, played a big part in helping me conquer the crippling shyness that held me back during much of my formative years, and this sweet picture does an excellent job of depicting those sort of incidental yet transformational relationships.
Written by David Hemingson, the film is focused on Paul Giamatti’s cantankerous teacher and the Christmas he spends with his school’s ‘holdovers’, a term for students with nowhere to go during the holiday season. Over the course of his babysitting duties, a bond is forged with Angus (Dominic Sessa), a bright but disruptive pupil whose propensity for troublemaking masks a deeper hurting, and Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), the school’s head chef who is quietly mourning the recent loss of her only child.
Payne has always had a knack for eliciting great performances from his casts and The Holdovers proves to be no exception to that rule, with his Sideways collaborator Giamatti in fine fettle throughout. Newcomer Sessa also shows promise in a role that balances wisecracks with moments of real vulnerability, although Randolph arguably outshines both with a turn that is both quietly affecting and utterly devastating. On this evidence, she’s a strong contender come Oscars season.
This film is also distinctive for its loving adoption of the aesthetic and sound that characterised much of 1970s independent cinema, with Eigil Bryld’s cinematography, Mark Orton’s score, and the soundtrack perfectly encapsulating the period. While it’s a stylistic choice that could be interpreted as an act of counterfeit or homage, for this viewer it worked well as an accompaniment to the hopeful tone of Hemingson’s story.
After the odd misfire that was Downsizing, this is a welcome return to form for Payne and a timely reminder of our ability to make a lasting impact on the lives of others through simple acts of compassion.
