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For many people, the holiday season is a time of joy and family togetherness. For others, though, it’s a lonely time of year—a reminder of what’s missing in their lives. And in The Holdovers, director Alexander Payne invites audiences to spend the holidays with a trio of those lonely people.
The Holdovers braces for a frustrating holiday break with Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), the least-liked teacher at an all-boys school in New England. Mr. Hunham has been assigned to watch over the boys who are staying behind for the break—along with Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the head of the kitchen, who’s recently lost her only son in Vietnam. When most of the remaining boys are whisked away on a ski trip with their wealthy classmate’s dad, only bright but troubled Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) remains behind, dreading a holiday of loneliness and studies.
What was once a bustling but quaint snow-covered campus quickly turns cold and bleak after all of the rich and entitled future Ivy League students have left for two weeks at home—or maybe at some luxurious tropical resort. What’s left is a trio of misfits: the grieving mother, the pompous teacher, and the teenager who’s one expulsion away from military school. They’re all a little bitter about being stuck together. Mary would rather be spending the holidays with her son. Paul would rather spend the break in his room, engrossed in some work of ancient literature. And Angus would rather be in St. Kitts—on the trip that his mother and step-father decided to turn into their overdue honeymoon.
For the school’s three remaining residents, the holiday break plays out with a mix of biting banter, hilariously awkward situations, and moments of raw humanity. Payne once again manages to take a story about a group of very different yet similarly lonely characters and turn it into something that’s equal parts cozy, emotional, and wildly entertaining. There’s so much grief and vulnerability here—yet it’s often laugh-out-loud funny, too. And the film’s stars tackle both the drama and the comedy with ease, making it an entirely satisfying and enjoyable holiday journey.
Alexander Payne has made some remarkably memorable dramedies throughout his career. And while he’s had a few missteps along the way (including his last film, 2017’s perplexing Downsizing), The Holdovers is classic Payne. It’s a charming drama about grief and hope that will have viewers laughing through their tears.
Join this trio for their lonely holiday when The Holdovers arrives in theaters on November 10, 2023.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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