THE HOLDOVERS (2023, USA, 133m, 15) ****½
Comedy, Drama
dist. Focus Features (USA), Universal Pictures International (UPI) (UK); pr co. Miramax / CAA Media Finance; d. Alexander Payne; w. David Hemingson; pr. Bill Block, David Hemingson, Mark Johnson; ph. Eigil Bryld (Colour | 1.66:1); m. Mark Orton; ed. Kevin Tent; pd. Ryan Warren Smith; ad. Jeremy Woolsey.
cast: Paul Giamatti (Paul Hunham), Dominic Sessa (Angus Tully), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Mary Lamb), Carrie Preston (Miss Lydia Crane), Brady Hepner (Teddy Kountze), Ian Dolley (Alex Ollerman), Jim Kaplan (Ye-Joon Park), Michael Provost (Jason Smith), Andrew Garman (Dr. Hardy Woodrup), Naheem Garcia (Danny), Stephen Thorne (Thomas Tully), Gillian Vigman (Judy Clotfelter), Tate Donovan (Stanley Clotfelter), Darby Lee-Stack (Elise), Bill Mootos (Mr. Endicott), Dustin Tucker (Mr. Rosenswieg), Juanita Pearl (Mary’s Sister Peggy), Alexander Cook (Priest / Bartender), Liz Bishop (Office Lady), Cole Tristan Murphy (Toothbrushing Student).
This wonderfully observed comedy-drama follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Randolph). Exploring parent-son relationships and dysfunctional personalities, Hemingson’s script offers both insight and hope. Giamatti and Sessa’s teacher-pupil relationship develops into one of respect and understanding through a series of misadventures that serve as a vehicle for each to see the events that have shaped the other’s lives. Brilliantly acted with sublime moments of character-driven wit and drama, the result is life-affirming and ironic.
AA: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
AAN: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Giamatti); Best Original Screenplay (David Hemingson); Best Achievement in Film Editing (Kevin Tent)
