Current:Home > NewsAlexander Payne keeps real emotion at bay in the coyly comic 'Holdovers' -MoneyMatrix
Alexander Payne keeps real emotion at bay in the coyly comic 'Holdovers'
View
Date:2025-04-11 19:46:16
Even as someone whose job is to complain about the state of contemporary filmmaking, I've never really bought into the idea that "They don't make 'em like they used to" — something moviegoers have been saying since the silent era.
Still, I understand why some critics have been waxing so nostalgic in their praise of The Holdovers. From the moment its scratched-up retro-style studio logo appears, Alexander Payne's new film offers itself up as a throwback to a time when thoughtful, character-driven comedies for adults were more of a staple than they are now. The movie isn't just set in 1970; it wants to look as though it were made in 1970.
It's also a reunion for Payne and actor Paul Giamatti, nearly 20 years after their superior wine-country comedy Sideways. In The Holdovers, Giamatti again plays a hard-drinking, sharp-tongued curmudgeon with tragicomic verve. This time he's Paul Hunham, a teacher of ancient history at a prestigious New England boarding school called Barton Academy.
Paul believes in showing tough love to his students, whom he openly refers to as "degenerates" and "reprobates." On the last day of school before winter break, he hands the boys back their exams, which nearly all of them failed.
The only student to get a decent grade is Angus Tully, played by Dominic Sessa. He's a sharp, smart kid with a rebellious streak, fueled in part by family problems back home. When he learns that his mom and new stepdad have decided to spend the holidays honeymooning in the Caribbean, Angus is forced to stay at Barton for two weeks under Paul's supervision.
There are four other young holdovers as well, but David Hemingson's script conveniently gets them out of the way. Joining Paul and Angus is the school cafeteria manager, Mary Lamb, wonderfully played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph from Dolemite Is My Name. It's Mary's first Christmas since her son, a Barton grad, died serving in the Vietnam War.
A prickly teacher, an angry student and a grieving cook cooped up together for two frigid weeks without central heating sounds like a recipe for horror-movie disaster: The Catcher in the Rye meets The Shining. Thankfully, no one gets axed to death in The Holdovers, though someone does end up in the hospital after a minor accident.
Soon the three find better reasons to leave campus, attending a Christmas Eve party and taking an unexpected field trip to Boston. Road trips have been something of a Payne specialty in movies like Sideways and Nebraska, a chance for rough-edged characters to travel together and bond over each other's losses and disappointments.
That's a lovely idea, and The Holdovers sometimes lives up to it. Some of the best scenes find Paul and Mary watching TV, drinking whisky and joshing with each other well into the wee hours. These moments have a lived-in casual-hangout quality that's missing elsewhere.
In their many arguments, Paul and Angus tend to spell out the obvious — how they're feeling, why they're mad at each other and all the awful things they've been through. Giamatti is a skilled enough actor to make this seem like part of Paul's overbearing nature. But Sessa, an appealing newcomer, doesn't fare as well; too often he's made to talk about his teenage angst rather than embody it.
And then there's Mary, whose name can't help but smack of cheap symbolism given that she's mourning a child at Christmastime. The script doesn't know what to do with Mary besides sanctify her, turning her grief into a prop. That's a shame, since Mary is easily the most interesting character here, which is due entirely to the terrific comic timing and deep emotion that Randolph brings to an underwritten role.
Watching Paul, Angus and Mary, we're meant to reflect on the social turmoil of the past and how it dovetails with the present. Angus' family drama touches on depression and mental illness. The death of Mary's son in Vietnam raises issues like racism and classism. But these points are glossed over in a movie that skims the surface of its '70s milieu without fully engaging with it.
Payne isn't really "making 'em like they used to"; beneath its old-school aesthetic, The Holdovers faces a problem that's all too familiar in this director's work: a coyness about his characters and their circumstances that keeps real emotion and holiday spirit at bay.
veryGood! (9591)
Related
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- $100M will be left for Native Hawaiian causes from the estate of an heiress considered last princess
- 'Senseless' crime spree left their father dead: This act of kindness has a grieving family 'in shock'
- Speaker Johnson is facing conservative pushback over the spending deal he struck with Democrats
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- $100 million gift from Lilly Endowment aims to shore up HBCU endowments
- Tacoma bagel shop owner killed in attempted robbery while vacationing in New Orleans
- Jonathan Owens Doubles Down on Having “No Clue” Who Simone Biles Was When They Met
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Chris Pratt Shares Special Photo of All 3 Kids Together
Ranking
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- 27 Rental Friendly Décor Hacks That Will Help You Get Your Deposit Back
- Lisa Marie Presley posthumous memoir announced, book completed by daughter Riley Keough
- New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick Leaving Team After 24 Seasons
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- 15 million acres and counting: These tycoons, families are the largest landowners in the US
- US adults across racial groups agree the economy is a top priority, AP-NORC and AAPI Data polls show
- Trump's legal and political calendars collide less than a week before Iowa caucuses
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
2024 tax season guide for new parents: What to know about the Child Tax Credit, EITC and more
Recalled charcuterie meats from Sam's Club investigated for links to salmonella outbreak in 14 states
These Are the Key Winter Fashion Trends You Need to Know Now, According to Amazon Influencers
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
Every Browns starting quarterback since their NFL return in 1999
Who should Alabama hire to replace Nick Saban? Start with Kalen DeBoer of Washington
Bill Belichick out as Patriots coach as historic 24-year run with team comes to an end