The Holdovers

You're completely welcome to mark The Holdovers as one of my biggest blunders ever on Rath's Reviews. It released during a busy time of year - not only from a movie perspective - but I'd just started a new job. Sure, there were plenty of opportunities for me to see it in a theater throughout December. Particularly instead of other films that I may not have liked nearly as much...

Now we're in a weird dilemma where the 2023 Rath Awards have come and gone and The Holdovers is clearly a 2023 film...not one of those "released in 2023, but to the general public in 2024" instances. I'm left defaulting this fantastic movie to a Retro Review, which is fine, but it will include exuberant praise for my massive miss. In fact, The Holdovers would have made a splash at the Rath Awards with nominations in:

Acting - Paul Giamatti probably would have snuck into my Top 5

Directing - Alexander Payne wouldn't have overtaken our winners, but definitely nominated

Top 10 Films - This would have been in my Top 10, potentially even Top 5. 

If those declarations are surprising to you, trust me when I say they're painful for me and consider this Retro Review as me making amends. The Holdovers is a delightful film, feeling as if it's from simpler times, and one of the best from last year. It deserves the Oscars praise it's getting right now. 

My favorite part about The Holdovers is Alexander Payne's direction and creative decision to make this feel genuinely old-school. You can tell that older cameras are being used (or at least filters), the setting is captured appropriately through the environment and clothing, and even certain camera tricks that were popular in the 80s/90s come into play. Couple that with the Christmas setting, and The Holdovers feels like a warm hug...a gentle blend of nostalgia filmmaking with a new, worthwhile story. And from a Christmas perspective? This film easily shoots up the ranks as one of the better Christmas movies you can watch. 

Thanks to a stellar script and an efficient and thoughtful character study of several different parts of the cast, The Holdovers is consistently engaging and enjoyable. When Angus (Dominic Sessa) is left behind by his parents for the holidays at his boarding school, he becomes a member of "the holdovers" - those students remain at school for the holidays. Every year, one unlucky teacher must stay behind to chaperone, and this year that task falls upon the grumpy, curmudgeon, Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti). Along with the school cook, Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), they spend a couple weeks together, learning more about each others lives, and the hidden layers beneath what they see on the surface. It melds into a Holiday blend of drama, emotion, with humor and heartwarming moments. Each performance is strong, but I found Giamatti to be the strongest while he easily carries the film as a "Scrooge" of sorts, who learns to open up. Da'Vine Joy is also exquisite - it's no wonder she's making a splash during this awards season - though I wish her character would have had more closure. Comparatively, her story is the most emotional, but doesn't necessarily get much focus in the film's final moments, which was perhaps the only thing I didn't like about it. 

I am very happy to have finally seen The Holdovers, and even more so to have enjoyed it so much. It is a time-capsule of a film, feeling as if its from a different era. I imagine it will age well over the next years and decades even if it may have some incredibly stiff competition at this year's Oscars.

Retro Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10