The Holdovers (2023)
8/10
Whose stories do we get to hear? I pondered that question after watching The Holdovers, a well-made and critically acclaimed film that tells the story of a classics teacher at an elite boarding school forced to watch over students with nowhere else to go during the Christmas break. The story is nothing groundbreaking, but made memorable by effective direction, characterization, and performances. While it makes some criticisms of elite institutions—a teacher suffers negative professional consequences for poorly grading “legacy” students with influential parents—The Holdovers is still the work of filmmakers who grew up attending private schools and Ivy League universities, and as such a reminder of whose stories are more likely to be told in a mass medium like film.
Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) teaches classics and history at the all-male boarding school Barton Academy, located in New England. A strict taskmaster with a lazy eye who formerly studied at Barton, Hunham is stuck serving as chaperone for a few students stuck at the school over the holidays. The only other staff member staying at Barton during the break is cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), whose son—also a Barton alumnus—was recently killed in the Vietnam War. At the last minute, student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) learns that he too will be staying at the school during the break. The relationship between Paul and Angus is the main focus of the film.
Of the central trio, Randolph won the most accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The scene in which Mary breaks down at a Christmas Eve party over the death of her son is likely the one that carried her to Oscar victory. As good as Randolph is, Giamatti and Sessa get the most screen time, and it’s their bond that represents the heart of the film. In a career-best performance, Giamatti makes the most of his role as a stern teacher whom others, with justification, regard as an “asshole”—but who also has a sincere love for classical history and literature that he tries to impart upon his students. Deep beneath Hunham’s harsh exterior is a willingness to sacrifice his own interests for others. In the intelligent but troubled Tully, Hunham comes to see many parallels to himself. Sessa brings vulnerability to the role of Tully, particularly as the character navigates father issues.
Screenwriter David Hemingson offers a lot of witty dialogue, and director Alexander Payne helps strike the right balance between comedy and drama. The period setting is conveyed well. The movie genuinely feels like it was made in the 1970s, from the credits and cinematography to the music and production design. This is very much a character-driven film, about three broken people who come to learn more about themselves through each other. It’s the kind of story we’ve seen many times before, but told very well, though the running time is a bit too long. I’m also not sure we needed to spend so much time with other holdover students who mostly disappear after the first act. Much if not all of the time we spend getting to know these characters could have been cut.
As mentioned, the filmmakers drew upon their own experience in developing this story. Both Hemingson and Payne attended private schools before going on to the Ivy League for higher education: Hemingson graduated from Yale and Columbia Law School, Payne from Stanford. The moment when we learn that Hunham went to Harvard made me roll my eyes. In movies and TV, having attended Harvard is shorthand for saying a character is brilliant. Yet we know that many of the people who attend these Ivy League schools make it there not because of merit, but because they have wealthy parents. Was it necessary for Hunham to have attended Harvard? Hollywood continually fixates on a small elite from privileged backgrounds. The presence of working-class supporting characters like Mary Lamb doesn’t change that.
Perhaps it’s unfair to spend time in a review of The Holdovers complaining about stories that aren’t being told, rather than focusing on the one that is. But for me the film was a reminder that Hollywood tends to produce more stories about people from the upper echelons of society, while lives of the poor and working class remain by and large invisible. Stories focusing on the latter should be told more often.