The Holdovers (2023)

The Holdovers is a quietly powerful comedy‑drama set at a remote New England prep school over Christmas in 1970. When a pompous, lonely history teacher, Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), is obliged to stay on campus to supervise students who cannot go home for the holidays, he finds himself stuck with a single “holdover” — 15‑year‑old troublemaker Angus — and the school’s weary head cook, Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), whose own grief over a lost son in Vietnam lingers beneath her warm exterior. Over two snowy weeks the three misfit strangers, each carrying their own hurts and defenses, form an unlikely, fragile household. Watching the film you’ll experience a slow, character‑driven story that mixes dry, often caustic humor with genuine tenderness. The boarding‑school setting creates a bracing, intimate atmosphere: snowbound halls, cramped quarters and formal traditions contrast with small, human moments of connection — meals, late‑night conversations, and awkward attempts at care. The script leans into sharp dialogue and unexpected comic misadventures while gradually opening space for vulnerability, mourning and quiet redemption. Tonally the movie balances bitterness and warmth; it’s often funny in a pointed, satirical way but never at the expense of its characters’ sadness. Performances anchor the film, turning prickly exchanges into emotional growth without melodrama. You’ll come away moved by how these three fractured people learn to choose a different future than the one their pasts seemed to dictate, and by the film’s blend of bleak winter scenery, wry humor and heartfelt intimacy.

Actors: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa

Director: Alexander Payne

Genres: Comedy, Drama

82 /100 7.9 /10 8.1 /10