The Holdovers (2023)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Hazy Shade of Winter

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

One of my favorite types of Christmas stories are the ones in which a group of oddballs are randomly assembled and must spend the holidays together. Those can turn into noisy, obnoxious things like Unaccompanied Minors, but they can also become sweet, simple, low-key movies like Alexander Payne's The Holdovers.

A return to form after Payne's ill-fated previous movie Downsizing — and a reuniting with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti — The Holdovers is set in 1970 at a New England prep school called Barton Academy. Most of the boys are preparing to go home for the Christmas holidays, but a few are forced to stay behind for various reasons, parents out of the country or what have you.

Rebellious and combative teen Angus (Dominic Sessa) thinks he's heading home, but gets a surprise when his mother phones to tell him that she's decided instead to spend the holiday honeymooning with her new husband. Angus is forced to remain behind, looked after by the most-hated professor on campus, Paul Hunham (Giamatti), who has exotropia (the boys call him "Walleye") and some other condition that causes an unpleasant body odor by the afternoon. Hunham himself was roped into the job at the last-minute by another professor who claimed his mother was sick.

Professor Hunham prescribes homework for the boys, in rooms where the heating has been turned off, and occasionally sends them out in the cold for calisthenics. They are served meals by Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), whose own son, a former Barton student, was killed in the Vietnam War. She has nowhere else to go, so has also volunteered to stay behind and cook. Before long, one boy's father shows up in a helicopter and invites everyone to join in on a ski trip. Parents are called, and permissions are given... except Angus, whose mother cannot be reached.

So now it's just Angus, Professor Hunham — eventually known to everyone as just "Paul" — and Mary. It takes a while to get to this point, and despite the movie's appealing languor, it is in fact a lengthy 133 minutes, and parts of the setup might have been trimmed. But once we get here, it's worth the wait. The trio put together a makeshift Christmas Day, with a tree, gifts, and a nice dinner. Angus says, in total honesty, that he's never had a real "family" dinner like this one. It's a lovely moment.

Following that, they take an impromptu trip into Boston for some educational sightseeing, while Mary stops to visit her pregnant sister. It's here that the predictable bonding happens, with Paul loosening up and Angus dropping some of his rage. Angus even begins to see Paul as a sort of father figure, to which Paul responds positively. There are some more character reveals here, mainly during a Christmas party given by one of the faculty, and, finally, a turning point that brings our story to its best possible conclusion.

Payne fills the soft, grainy frame — perhaps attempting to echo the feel of 1970 film stock (the characters go to the movies to see Little Big Man in one scene) — with snowscapes and the soundtrack with gentle Christmas music. It's actually a weird mix of soothing and agitating, which is perhaps the main reason Payne decided to let the running time inflate. It gives us a chance to ebb and flow with the characters without being rushed, or irritated.

The movie's greatest achievement, however, is that it has taken a terribly familiar story and has magically managed to tell it in a way that feels fresh and organic, even with the holiday stuff included. It's a movie that I will happily add to my annual holiday viewing. This achievement might be due to Payne's gift with character and environment, or his perfect casting (I'd like to see Randolph get some awards love this year). Or maybe it's just a Christmas miracle.

Universal's Blu-ray release features a gorgeous transfer that captures that soft, slightly grungy 1970s feel. It has an interesting choice for an audio mix, DTS-HD 3.0, which means less dynamic range, and the sound coming from the right, left, and center only. This was likely another attempt to re-create the feel of the times. Bonuses are less interesting, with a few short deleted scenes, along with explanations as to why they didn't make the final cut, and two short (around 10 minutes each) EPK interviews with some of the cast and crew. The release also comes with a bonus DVD and a digital copy. Not much to complain about. Recommended.