Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 13 mins
Director. Alexander Payne
Cast. Paul Giamatti, Carrie Preston, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa.
Rating. 75%
Review.
After a six-year hiatus following the underwhelming Downsizing, Alexander Payne returned to form earlier this year with The Holdovers. Once again, Payne reunites with Sideways star, Paul Giamatti as the cantankerous Professor of Ancient History, Paul Hunham who is selected to spend Christmas holed up at Barton Preparatory School with a wayward student, Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and the school cook, Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
The film is indebted to a familiar story trajectory; the crusty, middle-aged curmudgeon softening through his experiences with younger and more lively spirits. Payne’s direction allows Giamatti to be the heart and soul of the narrative, with a seemingly natural tonal ebb and flow to his character’s respective stubbornness and growth. Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph share a warm rapport and all three deliver superb performances. Inevitably, Professor Hunham and the wayward Angus establish a connection; it is no great surprise that they do, but this breakthrough is managed with gentle wit and style, and ingenious narrative invention. Arguably Mary Lamb’s story takes second place to the central dynamic, but Payne creates space for her character to breathe, particularly in the scene where she is reunited with her younger sister.
Indeed, an impeccably crafted screenplay (from David Hemingson) is a masterclass in incremental, indirect character revelations and plot transitions. Wholesome and tender, with warmth, never maudlin. This gentle redemptive drama with rueful dialogue and a melancholy sense of place is all too reminiscent of the early 1970s films of Hal Ashby (Bound For Glory or Coming Home). Enveloped by the wistful, vintage aesthetics of Payne’s homage to the filmmakers of the 1970s, like Ashby – complete with a mono sound mix and custom-made studio logos – the result is a beautiful piece of nostalgia. Symbolic perhaps? The director lamenting the notion that ‘this is the kind of film that Hollywood doesn't make anymore.'
Unlike so many films which try to squeeze every bit of drama out of a story in order to manipulate the emotions of the audience, Alexander Payne resists the temptation to do so, and instead delivers something which feels more authentic and personal. It is more affecting because of its subtlety.
The Holdovers may just be Payne’s most earnest, heartwarming work and accomplished film since Sideways, which is now, unbelievably, 20 years old. Effortless in its charm, it is a sensitive character-based approach to a story that’s so indicative of Payne’s style and one which results in a career high point for the veteran director.
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