Chris Connor on The Holdovers, a new modern Christmas classic…
Christmas films certainly aren’t anything new with a few transcending their holiday trappings to become genuinely well-regarded films and awards contenders, like The Apartment, Shop Around The Corner or It’s A Wonderful Life in particular. The latest in this long line of seasonal traditions is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers which sees the director re-team with Sideways star Paul Giamatti for the 70s set tale of a downtrodden Professor at a prestigious College in Massachusetts tasked with taking charge of the titular holdovers, those students unfortunate enough to have nowhere to go for the holiday.
It’s this ragtag crew who form the film’s core with Giamatti’s Paul Hunham, a former student of Barton Academy himself, Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Mary Lamb the school’s chef, who recently lost her son in the Vietnam war. The final of our main trio is Dominic Sessa’s Angus Tully. Tully and his cohort of students have come to dislike Hunham and his pessimistic outlook on life and much of the film sees the double act of the two and their warming relationship. Of course, many of the best festive films feature family at their core and our trio in many ways form a dysfunctional family with Angus at one point remarking that he’s never had a family Christmas.
The mood feels like a Hal Ashby work from the early 70s, Harold & Maude, springing to mind but set at Christmas with the festive backdrop lingering throughout but never taking away from the main themes or relationships at its core. There are sprinklings of festive music and themes we’ve come to expect and while some Christmas films have the season in smaller doses it is a constant here.
This is an often hilarious, moving tale that is sure to become a future favourite and looks set to be a contender in many awards categories, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Screenplay. It is fully deserving of its frontrunner status, ranking as one of 2023’s best-reviewed releases. The questionable choice of January release for the UK aside, this has all the hallmarks of becoming a Christmas tradition for many households. It has all the warmth and humour we might expect but rather than being purely a sugar-coated confection, it has oodles of depth in its screenplay and performances tinged with melancholy, something that is a familiar trait for Alexander Payne’s films.
Hunham in many ways is the Scrooge of our tale, befallen by much bad luck, initially abrasive to most of his students. The chemistry between the central trio and the warmth that develops is one of the joys to behold with Sessa more than holding his own against the veterans he is tasked with acting opposite.
Where some Christmas films can feel cloying, much like It’s A Wonderful Life and other favourites, this could be watched away from the season and still be rewarding, playing across the festival circuit. Come for the festive setting and you’ll be enchanted by its layered story and pitch perfect tone and performances.
The Holdovers is not just one of this year’s finest releases but also a genuine Christmas classic in the making that is arguably Alexander Payne’s finest since Sideways. It may contain many trappings of generic seasonal fare but it is so much more than its yuletide setting and will reward repeat viewings for audiences to unpack its references to both the 70s and the holidays. This is certainly one to add to your calendar for future Christmas movie planning.
Chris Connor
