This heartfelt winter film is a must see
Finally being home for Christmas meant going to the local theater with my friends. The Holdovers was released on Nov. 10 and although I didn’t know much about the movie, I was far from disappointed. The film was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for the Golden Globes and the actors (Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who played the two of the main characters won Best Performance. Many other news outlets have also predicted that it will be nominated for many Oscars.
This movie had me entranced by the opening scene, with the warm fuzz of soft film on the young boy’s choir rehearsal. The film is set in the early 1970s at an all-boys boarding school, reminding me and my peers of the 1989 film Dead Poets Society. As the holiday break rolls in, a student (played by Dominic Sessa) has to stay over at the school, and to watch them are a lonely and grumpy teacher (played by Paul Giamatti) and a grief-stricken chef (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph). As the movie develops, so does the friendship of this unlikely trio.
Although the movie is long, it keeps you interested by developing the plots of each character, and balancing between comedy and human experience. Viewers see how deeply lonely the teacher is and how his life revolves around the school, as he was once a student there as well. We also see how the chef, Mary, deals with her son’s recent death from the military and how she is suddenly drunkenly emotional at a Christmas party. Finally, we can come to understand why the student, Angus, is troubled due to his relationship with his mother and his father being institutionalized for early-onset dementia.
One of my favourite aspects of this film is the balance between comedy and heaviness. Some of my favourite scenes were filled with ‘your mom’ jokes and a chase that ends stupidly with a dislocated shoulder.
To balance out the satire lines, there were moments of depth; a scene between Angus and his teacher that was filled with emotion was after Angus visited his father and his teacher reassured him that Angus will not turn out like his father. The two, very accurate of the time, both experience depression but fail to address and connect over the experience. In addition, we see the grief in Mary as her son had just died and how she deals with his passing.
Even if these scenarios are situations that you have never experienced, you will feel yourself understand their dilemmas. You can see their perspective so well.
I saw this movie around a month ago and it’s something I’m still thinking about. You know that this film will be the Christmas movie that I watch annually when even the movie snobs of Letterboxd said that this will become a classic.
