The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson, is an endearing study on nostalgia and the past as a thing that we both yearn for and run from. Set against the backdrop of a 1970s New England boarding school, Payne produces a charming period piece to add to the festive cinematic roster. Audiences can be forgiven for falling for the Dead Poets Society-like setup: a motley crew of teenage boys and their charismatic teacher, who are unalike in personalities but will no doubt be bonded by their commonality of being isolated during the holiday season. That is, until Hemingson deploys the perfect rich kid deus ex machina, with a CEO father landing his helicopter on the football field to whisk all but one away from the militant supervision of Professor Hunham (Paul Giamatti) to a private ski resort. Finally, we are left with the real “holdovers:” a wayward teen (Dominic Sessa), abandoned by a negligent mother for the duration of his Christmas holidays, stuck to enjoy the company of his erudite but ill-humoured classics professor and the school cook who is grieving the recent loss of her son (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Payne and Hemingson, two highly experienced creators in their respective fields, share a great understanding of the tropes they are writing into but never let themselves get trapped by them. Simultaneously, they never try to reinvent the wheel or do anything drastic in the name of shock value. The writing is restrained, knowing the perfect time to reveal the right emotional punch, and the performances elevate the changing dynamics between the three characters. It is an intoxicatingly easy watch, and although it arrived post-Christmas here in Ireland and the UK, it is not seasonally exclusive and is equally enjoyable even when the decorations have all been packed away.
There appears to be a common trend of labelling nostalgia and period pieces as inauthentic and cutesy. Perhaps some might feel cheated to find that the period- authentic grain and texture were not achieved through shooting on film but were, in fact, shot digitally with experimentation of varying lenses and stocks to get that perfect vintage aura. As if replicating the past is an action of disrespect rather than appreciation. But the colour palette carefully curated by the film’s cinematographer, Eigil Bryld, exudes an energy of warmth, familiarity, and comfort that, despite being a replication, offers something strikingly refreshing. The aestheticised 1970s provides the perfect landscape to depict the core themes of the film: nostalgia, the haunting of the past, and fear of the future. A period in America defined by disillusionment, war, and instability, the societal is observed through the individual experiences of each of these characters and their hidden struggles, including the class divide, the harrowing effects of the Vietnam War and mental illness, and it provides the heartfelt grounding that allows it to be the perfect holiday classic. The film, not only set in the seventies but stylised, packaged, and advertised as a seventies film, from the posters to the dramatic, corny voiceover of the trailer, has all of the visual markings of being a “70’s film,”… but it is not. Nor can it be. For many critics, this may be the film’s downfall, with its manufactured aesthetic and perfectly plotted structures disallowing it to pair up with the incessant realism of 1970s cinema fully.
“Remember that if you truly want to understand the present, or yourself, you must begin in the past. History is not merely the past, Mr. Tully. It’s an explanation of the present.”
It’s impossible not to be nostalgic about a particular time of your life, and we’re all guilty of glamourising these moments. It is human nature. The Holdovers is perhaps guilty of the same, but it still makes for delightful drama, filled with truly fabulous insults, Ancient Grecian education, and a wonderfully honest depiction of grappling with grief during the holidays. None of these ideas are particularly new, but then again, let Paul Hunham remind us, “There’s nothing new in human experience.” There is a particular pain and isolation of experiencing grief during a period so pedestaled for its quality time with loved ones, such as Christmas. The nuanced portrayal of this can, of course, be credited to Hemingson’s earnestly crafted characters, but equal praise must be offered to the spectacular performances of Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa (despicably, it is also his debut screen performance, and he has the gall to be that talented). Da’Vine Joy Randolph deserves all of her flowers, her recently awarded Golden Globe (and fingers crossed, a little golden man on March 10th). Her portrayal of loss and that quiet sadness that engulfs a person is gentle and subtle and yet so powerful that often, she needs no dialogue to reduce the audience to a puddle of tears. A truly inspiring performance.
It is the Christmas movie that society has been begging for, ticking all of the heartwarming, comforting, and nostalgic boxes that the holidays demand. This does not diminish it either. In the madness and chaos of today’s society, it always seems outlandish to me to use these adjectives as a criticism. The conclusion of The Holdovers may not be unexpected, but it is filled with heart, goodwill, regret, kindness, and an abundance of riotous Giamatti one-liners. I find it difficult to imagine someone not enjoying this movie. But that’s for you to find out.
In cinemas now!
WORDS: Maeve Ronayne
