The Holdovers (2023) or, The New England Christmas Blues

1/17/2024

The Holdovers (2023) or, The New England Christmas Blues

♥♥♥♥

Three disparate characters around a sparse meal with a very far from straight Christmas tree in the background make up this humorous poster for Alexander Payne's The Holdovers

Paul Hunham is an aging bachelor and a teacher of classics and antic history at the Barton Academy boys' school in New England in 1970. This Christmas the sarcastic curmudgeon has been left with the duty of overseeing the long vacation for the handful of holdover students at the school who are forced to spend it there.

The Holdovers is written and co-produced by David Hemingson (The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1995-96)) and directed by Nebraskan master filmmaker Alexander Payne (The Passion of Martin (1991)), whose 9th feature it is.

Besides the acidic Hunham, played with zest and sense of character by Paul Giamatti (Jungle Cruise (2021)), the central two at the school are the troubled teen Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa in an impressive debut) and kitchen manager Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Guilty (2021)) in an assertive and powerful performance), who is grieving her recently lost teenage son's demise in Vietnam. Crusty humor and maudlin backstories join hand in hand. Swept in snowy New England exteriors and various locations comprising the picturesque Barton school, Payne also unleashes copious amounts of period-appropriate soft rock and pop songs. All contributing to the soft, pleasant blues-ey ride that is The Holdovers.

We may not be up there with Payne's best films (About Schmidt (2002), Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013)), or maybe we are? Time will tell. There is a brittle warmth and sweet underlying humanity to this narrative of the discovery of a much-needed father figure (and more than a few kicks in the ass for the belligerent Hunham's mostly unchallenged self), which makes it a doozy and likely to become a holiday favorite. Many of Hemingson's lines are dynamite. After the expansive time with this little company of individuals, I only wish I knew what would become of Paul Hunham after this.

Related posts:

Alexander Payne: 2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Nebraska (2013) or, Father and Son

Top 10: Best dramedies reviewed by Film Excess to date

2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Top 10: The best big hit movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
The Descendants (2011) - Payne and Clooney score with a Hawaiian story of heartbreak, loss and family
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Hung - season 1 (2009) - Ray Drecker overcomes bad circumstances in mostly promising dramedy (executive producer/director)

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007) - James and Sandler marry in Dugan's crude, wrongfully maligned buddy-comedy (co-writer)

Paris, Je t'Aime (2006) - Short film anthology playground set in Paris (co-director)

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
About Schmidt (2002) or, Dear Ndugu ...
Election (1999) - Payne's high school politics dramedy

How the Warm, Elegant Look of 'The Holdovers' Came Together | Vanity Fair

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Uncertain, projected 15 mil. $

Box office: 22.9 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say

[The Holdovers premiered 31 August (Telluride Film Festival, US) and runs 133 minutes. Payne conceived the film upon seeing Marcel Pagnol's Merlusse (1935) and asked Hemingson to write the screenplay. Shooting took place from January - ? in Massachusetts. Focus Features bought the distribution rights for 30 mil. $ at the Toronto International Film Festival, breaking a record for highest amount paid in such a case at the festival. The release was eventually scheduled in North America as simultaneously theatrical and as VoD. The film opened #17 to a 211k $ first weekend in 6 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #6 and in 1,601 theaters (different weekends) and has grossed 18.6 mil. $ to date. The film has 15 scheduled opening markets yet to come, beginning with Italy and Mexico tomorrow, January 18th. It has won 2/3 Golden Globe nominations, is nominated for 4 Independent Spirit awards, has won 4 National Board of Review awards and an AFI award, among many other honors. Payne does not have his next film announced yet. Giamatti returned in Billions (2016-23) and Coins (2023, TV-series) and is set to make his theatrical return in San Andreas 2; Sessa does not have his next gig announced yet; and Randolph returned in Only Murders in the Building (2021-23) and is set to return theatrically in Bride Hard and Shadow Force. The Holdovers is certified fresh at 96 % with a 8.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Holdovers?

No comments:

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

1/17/2024

The Holdovers (2023) or, The New England Christmas Blues

No comments:

Post a Comment

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (4-24)

My Blog List