Written by David Hemingson
Directed by Alexander Payne
Angus: "I don't think I've ever had a real family Christmas like this before. Thank you, Mary."
Mary: "You're welcome."
I didn't think I'd be reviewing a Christmas movie in March but with the Oscars on last night, I thought it was time to catch up with this one. I'm really glad I did.
Set in a New England boarding school, the focus of this movie was largely on three very different characters and the effect each of them had on each other. You got classic professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), smart mouthed student Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) and cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph). An interesting trio of characters but what brought them together?
Funnily enough the title itself. With this film largely taking place during Christmas break, Paul found himself having to chaperone students who weren't going home for the holidays, which was where Angus fell in. As for Mary, she was grieving her son, Curtis and didn't want to spend Christmas with her own family.
Having these three characters bond and bicker over the course of this two hour plus movie definitely had its moments as we learned a lot about them. For example, Angus initially let Paul and Mary believe his father, Thomas (Stephen Thorne) was dead, only fot it to be later revealed he was institutionalized.
Of course along with that, the movie made a lot of Angus's acts of defiance against Paul (one resulting in a broken arm at one point) make a bit more sense. Dominic Sessa walked the line with Angus, keeping the character pretty sympathetic and likeable, even when he was being a pain in the backside.
As for Paul, I think this role will definitely be a career defining one for Giamatti as an actor. Paul's a character who's not respected by his peers or his students, had a plagiarism accusations levelled at him with consequences and doesn't seem to be able to tell fellow worker, Lydia (Carrie Preston) that he likes her. However when the chips were down, he came through for Angus despite the consequences being dire for him.
Then there was Mary. A lot of the times, she was a mediator to both Paul and Angus butting heads with one another but her grief for her son and reconnecting with her own family was a nice done arc. It's no wonder that Da'Vine Joy Randolph bagged the Oscar for Supporting Actress. She's on fantastic form here.
- Some of the other Holdovers students included a jock rival for Angus, a weed dealer and a Japanese exchange student, who disappeared for a large chunk of the movie.
- This movie having a plot about plagiarism also manifested recently in real life itself.
- I had to laugh at Paul giving both Angus and Mary the same book about meditation. Mary had a near romance of her own with Danny as did Angus with Lydia's niece.
- Angus was originally meant to be younger but was aged up for Dominic Sessa.
- Standout music: There's an abundance of Christmas music here so the highlights are Carol Of The Drum, Silent Night, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Jingle Bells to name a few.
- Chronology December 1970 and January 1971. Mostly in New England with a trip to Boston as well.
I really wished I had watched The Holdovers during Christmas because it was an absolute delight finally catching up with it. All three leads were excellent, the characters engaging and the rapport sublime throughout.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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