The absolutely brilliant Paul Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a cantankerous, foul-mouthed prep-school teacher, who is somewhat forced into taking care of a bunch of misfit students during winter break in Alexander Payne’s newest masterpiece The Holdovers. The film, which also stars Dominic Sessa as Angus Tully, one of Hunham’s students, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays grieving head cook Mary Lamb, is one that expertly combines cynicism and heart, a general trope in many of Payne’s movies. What makes The Holdovers different than Payne’s other movies, however, is the beauty of the cinematography and editing, which is reminiscent of and an homage to 1970s American cinema. The grittiness of the visuals perfectly mixes with the rough-around-the-edges personalities of the main characters, who are deeply flawed, desperately lonely, and bitterly hurt by the terrible circumstances framing their lives. With that said, however, the film’s script, written by David Hemingson, skillfully unpacks what those circumstances end up being, which ultimately exposes what are the tender, caring, and beautiful souls of these three damaged human beings. — Douglas C. MacLeod, Jr. (2023)
Arts & Faith Lists:
2023 Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury — #2