The holiday season has long passed, but there's one festive film I find myself returning to even outside the most wonderful time of the year.
Paul Giamatti's beloved dramedy "The Holdovers" was one I missed the first time around, but my colleague Rory Mellon had so much good to say about it that when it recently returned to Peacock, I figured I'd finally see what all the fuss was about.
And let me just say: You better have some tissues handy for this one.
"The Holdovers" feels like "A Christmas Story" grew up amid unprecedented times. It follows three outcasts stuck on campus over the holiday break, each at a crossroads in their lives, all set on a collision course to get what they can't seem to let themselves have.
Without spoiling any of the specific beats (because trust me, this is one movie that's better experienced than described), it's about growing up, falling on your sword, and the importance of knowing the shape of our souls, if nothing else.
If that all sounds a bit sappy, it undoubtedly is, but "The Holdovers" pulls off its heartfelt themes without ever feeling saccharine. As this trio spends an unconventional holiday season together and stumbles upon common ground, it proves a genuinely heartwarming affair cemented by some powerful performances.
With most of the East Coast and Midwest getting buffeted by wintry weather last weekend, it feels like the perfect time to revisit this Oscar-winning dramedy that radiates something pathetically, beautifully human that we need reminding of every once in a while.
Here’s everything to know about “The Holdovers," and why you should definitely add it to your watchlist.
What is 'The Holdovers' about?
Set in the '70s, "The Holdovers" follows an unlikely trio forced to spend the holidays together at a posh New England boarding school.
There's Dominic Sessa as a troubled teenage student too smart for his own good. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for the role, as a cafeteria manager still struggling with grief after her son died in the Vietnam War. And finally Paul Giamatti, an unyielding classics professor with his head firmly stuck up his ass, navel-gazing his life away on principle.
All three are screwed over by forces larger than themselves, trapping them on campus over the holidays while everyone else is off celebrating with their families.
Even though it's clear no one wants to be there — and there's especially no love lost between Angus (Sess) and his least favorite teacher Mr. Hunham (Giamatti) — over the festive period, their bond grows in ways that will warm your soul. Ultimately the trio changes each other's lives for the better by the time the snow starts to thaw and school begins again in the New Year.
It's easy to lose yourself in 'The Holdovers'
From the jump, "The Holdovers" spares no expense in transporting audiences back in time. Though it came out in 2023, you feel like you're watching a film made half a century ago.
Director Alexander Payne, cinematographer Eigil Bryld, and colorist Joe Gawler seem to have used every trick imaginable to make the footage appear like it was shot on a 35mm film stock in the '70s. Everything from the studio logos and title cards to the camera operation and monaural soundtrack mirrors films from that time period.
All these clever film emulation tricks come together to give "The Holdovers" an uncannily timeless feel, like we're getting a peak into an alternate timeline through the rosy lens of nostalgia. It's easy to get lost in the snowy wide shots of quaint pockets of civilization, Christmas carolers puttering about, and prim hallowed halls of Barton Academy.
Adding to this is how expertly "The Holdovers" builds anticipation. The first half jumps between glimpses into the trio's day-to-day, leaving breadcrumbs of context that radiate depth as we learn more about our three holdovers.
Mr. Hunham starts the movie as the teacher that all the students hate. (For all you need to know about him, listen to how he chastises his class in the film's opening moments: "Philistines. Lazy, vulgar, rancid little philistines.")
He quotes Latin in casual conversation, keeps hemorrhoid cream on his bathroom sink, and remains adamant that no appeal to common humanity shall sway him, especially not at Christmas.
And yet, by the end, he’s one of the most likable characters in any film ever, and the same is true of Angus.
As the plot unfolds, we learn this cranky old professor has a playful streak, and worse still, so does his student. He's pitted against himself, or rather the boy he used to be, before decades of academia ground him into the husk he is now.
Meanwhile, while their surrogate father-son dynamic plays out, Mary Lamb (Randolph) shoulders burdens neither can even imagine both as a grieving mother and as a Black woman working at a mostly white school in Massachusetts shortly after the Jim Crow era. I found her journey of discovering how to make room for the living, even amid our grief, particularly moving, and definitely goes to show that her Oscar was well-earned.
The movie makes it clear that these forces of nature will collide, it's just a matter of when and where — and how explosive the fallout will be.
Yet even with all the messiness of humanity on full display (and there is plenty), "The Holdovers" remains unabashedly heartfelt and hopeful. It's a movie so in love with its characters, and so committed in its humanist convictions, that you can't help but be swept up in the journey.
Stream 'The Holdovers' on Peacock now
“The Holdovers” holds a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes (with viewers rating it a respectable 92% on the review aggregate site), and racked up five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor (for Giamatti) when it came out.
If you're looking for a movie that'll reach into your soul and melt even the most frozen of hearts, "The Holdovers" is one to watch, especially with the weather getting frightful outside once again.
Now that it's left Prime Video, you can stream "The Holdovers" on its original home of Peacock. Just be prepared for some waterworks.
Watch "The Holdovers" on Peacock now
