For the past decade, it appeared that Alexander Payne had lost his magic touch. Following the critical acclaim of "Nebraska" in 2013, the American director stumbled with 2017’s "Downsizing," a messy film featuring a thumb-sized Matt Damon unrecognizable from Payne’s earlier comedic masterpieces. The pinnacle of his career was the effervescent "Sideways" from 2004, a delightful comedy about a wine-soaked road trip.
In Payne's latest venture, "The Holdovers," he reunites with essential ingredient Paul Giamatti, who assumes his first leading role in years as classics professor Paul Hunham. The director and actor, like port and Stilton at the end of a college feast, blend seamlessly into the film’s 1970s 35mm aesthetic, thanks to cinematographer Eigil Bryld. There's a sense of homecoming after an arduous winter term, and it's easy to forget that the film was made in the 21st century, such is its indulgent nostalgia.
Hunham is a curmudgeonly old soul, adorned in fusty corduroy with a roving glass eye. He scolds his pupils as Philistines for their lack of knowledge about Tacitus and Marcus Aurelius, rejecting Christmas cookies from colleagues he distrusts. He lacks the endearing qualities of Mr. Chips or the inspirational nature of John Keating, resembling more of a Henry Higgins with a reluctance to be liked. This demeanor persists into the Christmas holidays when he is tasked with supervising students who cannot go home for various reasons – the 'holdovers' of the title.
Payne blends wholesome Hal Ashby textures with the schoolboyish charms of Wes Anderson’s "Rushmore," although his student protagonist, Angus Tully, is much savvier than Max Fischer. The majority of "The Holdovers" unfolds between Hunham and Tully, portrayed with remarkable finesse by Dominic Sessa in his debut performance. They engage in witty repartee crafted by writer David Hemingson, reminiscent of Woody Allen’s autumnal masterpieces, played out over roast dinners and cozy jazz-scored soirées.
The cinematic presence of this duo exudes a warmth that melts away the frosty world outside. Payne’s pitch-perfect pacing allows both Hunham and Tully to soften before our eyes, creating a simultaneously hilarious and moving teacher-student relationship. However, it never veers into saccharine territory or becomes insufferably insular in its boarding school setting. Da’Vine Joy Randolph ensures that as the cook Mary Lamb, serving as our in and our out from this cushy space of privileged learning. Her son, a pupil at the school, was killed in Vietnam, and Randolph delicately balances the character’s grief and humor, adding poignancy to Hemingson’s script.
The trio's company is so embracing that saying goodbye becomes difficult. The Yuletide setting gives "The Holdovers" a timeless quality, a film meant to be watched every year. It feels like unwrapping an unwatched classic under the tree on Christmas morning.
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