The Holdovers: The Holiday Film We Needed
Written by Jamilla Philson
All images courtesy of Focus Features and Miramax
Nuzzled in the prime of winter break at a boarding school in New England, the year is 1970 and Angus Tully – a loner, outcast, and reject – is informed he will not be coming home for Christmas break, as per his mother’s request. The Holdovers was a quiet release from October 2023 that slipped over many of our heads. It’s not a huge cast, besides Paul Giamatti. Legacy fans aren’t flocking from every corner, and it’s not an unfathomable blockbuster budget sprinkled with CGI and AI effects. This movie is a rarity, one we are not used to seeing in our age of capitalism and horrible sequels. Reminiscent of Dead Poets Society, it delves into the story of three unlikely characters: a cruel and lonely classics Professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) who is tasked with staying behind on winter break to watch the“ holdovers”, or students who aren’t going home for the holidays, a cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who recently lost her son in the Vietnam War after he was drafted, and our protagonist Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) who is a troubled outcast staying at school for the holidays due to his mother’s orders.
The sentimental hazy glow of winter, perfect 70s zooms and push ins, as well as a warm-toned folk soundtrack are only a small percentage of what makes this film phenomenal. It’s witty and honest. It perfectly encapsulates the dark academia aesthetic with its brown toned set and costume design. There is a plethora of plaids, corduroys, and wool that is like eye candy to the audience. The director, Alexander Payne, has discussed how it was so easy to capture the essence of the 1970s because“ change comes slowly to New England.” Across the board in every department, The Holdoers eats: it invokes a nostalgia for a place I’ve never experienced as a child, but also communicates so effectively the feelings of isolation and gratefulness that the holidays exude. The film was shot on location at various boarding schools in Massachusetts, one of which is where they casted the lead, Dominic Sessa. It was his first ever film acting role! I’m not alone in my love for this film; in the 96th Academy Awards it received five nominations. Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (I screamed when she won, so proud of my girl).
So why am I proclaiming The Holdovers to be the best Christmas film of all time? Because it’s palpable, nostalgic, and necessary. Not only is this a cozy film for the holiday season but it shows us one of the most vital lessons in this world today: family is not just blood. It is also the people who love us, cherish us, and accept us for who we are. We can choose our family: they are our friends, they are our coworkers, they are fellow community members. It teaches us that even in our loneliest of times, there are still people out there who love and care about us, and for someone who is always a sap during the holiday season, this film made me feel right at home.
