The Holdovers
Alexander Payne’s superb bitter-sweet comedy-drama aptly captures the high hopes and tragic disappointments of heartfelt characters who find themselves trapped in a New England boarding school in the 70s and deftly fosters the unlikely friendship that unfolds between an educator and his hostile pupil.
Despite their suffering, these lone souls serve as a reminder to us that, aside from the challenges life throws at us, the dark secrets that we may carry, and our personal histories that sometimes stint us, uncovering what we have inside us through the friendships we make along the way, we must march on.
In this heart-warming, exquisite comedy-drama, Paul Giamatti excels as stern educator Paul Hunham, with outstanding support from Dominic Sessa as his cheeky nemesis, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph as the mindful cafeteria manager, Mary Lamb.
Written by David Hemingson and directed by Alexander Payne, the film offers solid performances enhanced by well-crafted rhythms and advents.
The Holdovers maintains the look of the period while resurrecting the greatest aspects of the storytelling traditions of that age, in a way that director Alexander is notably acquainted with.
Opening with a group of church boys directed by their choirmaster, to striking the right intonation, the music they choral also becomes the soundtrack to the film, as it purposefully, effectively slowly paces ahead.
Full of nostalgic clichés yet done so passionately and immediately that Payne seems to be re-discovering them for himself through the script.
After receiving a full scholarship to the exclusive New England boarding school Barton Academy, Paul Hunham took up the position of autocratic classics professor in December 1970. Because of his strict grading standards and harsh attitude, he is hated by both his pupils and staff. When Hunham doesn’t live up to the expectations of a wealthy donor, by failing his son, principal Woodrup chastises Hunham for the incident.
Hunham is consequently penalised by having to keep an eye on the five kids who are left in school over the Christmas break. The cafeteria manager, Mary Lamb, remains behind as well, mourning the loss of her son Curtis, a Barton student who was killed in Vietnam.
Hunham has the students work out and study on their vacation rather than having fun. One of the five pupils’ wealthy parents sends them on a ski vacation after being helicoptered in, for six days. At Barton, Hunham and Mary take care of themselves when Angus is unable to get in touch with his parents to ask permission for leave.
Even when the weight of emotional pain increases for the characters, as a result of the well-structured set-up, every scene seems to quickly bounce and weave thereafter. In addition to Hal Ashby’s films Harold and Maude and The Last Detail, which deal with friendships that develop across age and class boundaries, The Holdovers reminds me of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, which also tackles the trials and disappointments of the holiday season.
Despite the challenges faced by the two main characters, they gradually come to realise that they have more in common than they would initially care to admit.
-Dirk Lombard Fourie