That feeling when you go and see a film you have zero expectations for and don't really know anything about, save for the director and leading actor, and you come out loving it might just be the best feeling. Alexander Payne's The Holdovers did just exactly that at London Film Festival, a film sure to be a must-watch at Christmas from now on.
Set in the early 1970s, the film follows Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a disliked teacher at Barton Academy, who's responsible for supervising students who are unable to return home for the Christmas holidays. During this process, Paul is forced to deal with one particularly rebellious but troubled student, Angus (Dominic Sessa), who is grieving the loss of his father.
The Holdovers has the potential to fall into a trap to become too sweet and sugar-coated, yet it avoids it altogether through David Hemingson's writing. It's the film's strongest aspect, Hemingson writing a screenplay full of delightful comedic beats and truly poignant character moments that well and truly took me by surprise.
Eigil Bryld's cinematography brings an aesthetic to the film that drops you right into its 1970s Christmas setting. Bryld uses wider shots early on to really enhance the scale of the school, giving a sense of just how lonesome and isolating it'd be to spend a Christmas holiday there, even with two other people. It becomes more enclosed as the film moves along, the trio of characters growing closer, the teacher and student in particular understanding one another more.
The main trio of performances from The Holdovers all play their part in making it such an enjoyable watch, Paul Giamatti spearheading it all with a nuanced performance of wit that might just include one of the best insults ever heard in a film. Da'Vine Joy Randolph is moving as Mary Lamb, the school chef grieving the loss of her son, and Dominic Sessa really impresses in his debut performance, going toe-to-toe with Giamatti and more than holding his own.
The Holdovers is the most pleasant surprise of London Film Festival for me this year, Alexander Payne delivering a film both thought-provoking and downright hilarious.
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