Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a disliked history teacher at prep boarding school Barton Academy. With no family or friends to go to over Christmas break, Paul stays behind to supervise the students who are unable to journey home. At the beginning there are five boys, but then only one remains – the smart but troublemaking Angus (Dominic Sessa) who is always on the brink of getting expelled. Together with head cook Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is going through the loss of her son, they form an unlikely bond.

I wasn’t sure that The Holdovers was going to be my type of film, but I was quickly proven wrong. David Hemingson created a simple yet effective script while Alexander Payne helped bring to life a story of three mismatched people who are just looking to find their place in the world. There were no special effects or CGI, nor were there any gimmicks. Instead, we had a character study of these different individuals who, at the end of the day, weren’t that different from one another after all.

Giamatti was the perfect choice for the despicable history teacher. From the get go, you really dislike him, but as the layers are pulled back, you start to realize why he was the way he was. I loved the way in which Giamatti portrayed the character; the delivery was both sad and comedic at the same time. Randolph was also in top form here playing a grieving mother. Every time she was on screen, I had tears in my eyes. And I was in complete awe by Sessa. The fact that this is his first role is incredible because he really held his own.

As the events took place in the seventies, it was important that everything was as authentic as possible. I was immediately transported to the times thanks to the opening title sequence and the way in which it was all shot. I was also a big fan of the boarding school aesthetic amongst all that glorious snow.

The Holdovers is the perfect example that a film can just…be. It was poignant, yet funny when it needed to be and so unbelievably relatable. I saw myself in Mr. Hunham, Angus and Mary and I wanted them all to succeed. I’m so glad that this film has been getting so much awards buzz because it is certainly worth the hype.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️