Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne’s ‘The Holdovers.’ Photograph: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. / Click to view the trailer.
If you appreciate the warmth of comedy spiced up with a healthy dose of sarcasm delivered by great actors at work, you are in for a treat with director Alexander Payne’s latest film: The Holdovers.
In some ways reminiscent of Sideways, the cult classic that was released 20 years ago and penned by Payne—a formula he successfully now follows—brings back an older Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, a witty professor at a New England boarding school during a winter break in 1970.
Professor Hunham gets stuck with a group of students who, for one reason or another, have to stay at the school over Christmas.
The setting is ripe for a clash of generations, especially when Hunham has a tendency to address problems by quoting Greek mythology.
“Look at him. It’s only 11 in the morning, and he’s already lit,” says Teddy Kountze (Brady Hefner), one of the students, a bully as dumb as a glove, as he watches Hunham sip whiskey from a coffee mug.
“Who can blame him? It’s freezing out here,” replies Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a smart and sensitive kid not without problems of his own.
The Holdovers transports the viewer back to the ‘70s with the pursuit of perfection by the entire film crew, from the costume designer, Wendy Chuck, to the cinematographer, Eigil Bryld.
The visuals are grainy; the colors saturated.
The soundtrack is jazzy and soulful.
The movie is phenomenal.
‘The Holdovers’ premieres in cinemas on January 5.
