‘The Holdovers is shaping up to be a big player this awards season’
Actor Paul Giamatti does grouchy characters so well; in a way that makes you laugh, and want to hug him. Having starred in 2004’s wine region comedy Sideways, he’s reuniting with the film’s director, Alexander Payne, for this smart, funny, nostalgic drama set in the 1970s. Originally planned for a Christmas release, it’s shaping up to be a big player this awards season.
Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a teacher at a New England boys’ boarding school, where most of the kids go home for Christmas. But a handful of unfortunate ‘holdovers’ are stuck at school, and Paul is given the job of babysitting. When a rich daddy arrives in a helicopter to whisk away most of them, only teenager Angus (Dominic Sessa) remains. And so begins a story of bickering and – eventually – bonding between two strong personalities, both damaged in their own ways.
It’s a winning formula, given more weight and heart by the school’s head cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who lost her son in the Vietnam War. She watches with a wry eye – and the occasional swig of liquor – as Paul struggles to maintain order. Meanwhile, the anger in Angus grows as he feels abandoned by his mother and her boyfriend. More details about all three characters emerge over the course of one snowy Christmas, and it’s a pleasure to see it unfold.
The performances are terrific: Sessa is a real find as the surly Angus, while Randolph navigates her character with humour and grace. Giamatti is funny, annoying and yet relatable as the strict teacher who may have more in common with his young charge than he thought.