The Holdovers
The Holdovers is a very strong story, focusing on an estranged group of individuals forming an unlikely bond together, and end up helping each other overcome trauma, insecurity and grief.
I think Paul Giamatti delivers a really good performance as Paul Hunham. Paul represents a difficult character to be able to properly portray on screen. He is someone who is, on the surface quite a belligerent and pompous in his demeanor but also has moments from early on showcasing a more caring side to his character. This is shown through Giamatti’s ability to embody his character, using techniques like tone of voice and body language which makes a massive difference turning this abrasive character into one that we can feel empathy towards. It’s certainly one of, if not, Giamatti’s best performance to date.
Whilst on the topic, I also wanted to mention, the performance of Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who I think brings a good performance although, perhaps not quite to the level that I was expecting based on her Oscar best supporting actress win. That’s not to discredit her acting within this film, I feel like her performance if anything covers over the cracks of what I ultimately feel is an underwritten character. Randolph, in the limited capacity we see her in, does deliver some powerful moments, such as the house party kitchen scene. It’s a shame we don’t see more moments where we can really appreciate her grief.
Finally, I also want to credit Dominic Sessa and his performance. I think given the quality of the cast around him, and with it being his film debut, I think he certainly holds his own and never feels out of place. I look forward to seeing him build on this performance in other roles moving forward.
Easily my favorite aspect of the film is the visual aesthetic. As the audience, you get so immersed into the 70’s feel that it tries to replicate, and it executes it perfectly to a tee. You honestly would not be able to tell that this was a film made in the 2020’s. Despite being based around the Christmas period in Boston Massachusetts, the film has a warmth and vibrancy throughout which is noticeable and just visually very attractive to look at. A huge amount of credit needs to be given to Joe Gawler, the Colorist and Eigil Bryld the Cinematographer on this project. I also really appreciated the choices made by Bryld to use lenses and framing that emulated what would have been done in cinema at the time in the 70’s, it significantly contributes to how we the audience view the film. Director Alexander Payne’s choice to utilize real life surroundings for scenes as much as possible, really gives the film a natural beauty and further builds that immersive experience that you get when watching this film. The creative team behind how this film looks and feels really deserve a lot of credit and should be celebrated. Whilst not being completely new, as it obviously draws from inspiration from the past, it does try something unique during this day and age, which is a lot more than what many other films more recently can say.
Whilst not perfect, I did on the whole, really like the screenplay and how it was translated onto the big screen. I think the dynamic between the 3 leads works really well. They all have such different backgrounds leading up to the events that take place within the film, but can also relate to one another, as each of them are left in nothing but each other’s company over Christmas. Watching each of their arcs progress through the length of the film and observing how they all in some way are able to help each other through their separate difficulties makes for a very enjoyable viewing experience. I think the pairing that stand out the most is the relationship between Paul and Angus. I think Angus challenges Paul’s preconceptions about what his students are really like, and by seeing Angus show a degree of emotional vulnerability and open up about his struggles it breaks the visage that Paul has of his students and it forces him to alter his perspective from being this rigid rules above all teacher to one that shows compassion and kindness in order to be a better teacher. Paul acts as a figure head to Angus, providing guidance that nobody else is able to give him, whether that be through circumstance but also due to tragedy. Paul is the one who reassures Angus that his destiny will not be the same as his father’s and that he is his own man. Paul shows Angus compassion when nobody else around him will, breaking the cycle of lashing out to mask the pain. As mentioned previously, as much as I like the idea of having a character like Mary, in execution I think her implementation leaves something to be desired. I appreciate that her character is very much the supporting act to Paul and Angus, but it would have been nice to see a more defined arc in her story. There’s no nuance in her grief, I don’t get the impression early on that she is struggling with coping or has something that would indicate a deeper internal conflict, and I think that’s why the kitchen scene does not really connect with me. We start the film with her being in grief and end the film with not seemingly much changing. You could say things pick up a bit more after she visits her sister, but for me, overall I don’t think, enough of a change gets shown to the audience to feel particularly moved. Which is a shame because I do really feel like Da’Vine Joy Randolph brings a really good performance despite the pitfalls in her character.
To wrap up, The Holdovers makes a strong start to my year of reviewing films. The cinematography and general visual aesthetic must be up there with some of the best in film across more recent times. Paul Giamatti delivers what I think is his best performance to date and the supporting cast do a really good job too. The only regret I have from watching this film last week, is that I missed viewing it whilst it was still at theaters.
