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| 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)
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
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?
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