I know the new year has passed and we are already two months into 2024, but we still have to go through awards season, which will conclude at the 96th Oscars in March. This means that we at The Legionnaire have to cover some films nominated for best picture that we have yet to address. So far, we’ve already covered Oppenheimer (2023), Barbie (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), to name a few. While I’m not 100% sure we’ll get to cover all the remaining films nominated for the big prize, I’m going to try my best to review some, and one film that I will be talking about in this review is the Alexander Payne film The Holdovers (2023). 

While Payne may not be known to causal audiences compared to the likes of Scorsese and Spielberg, Alexander Payne has made a good number of films (eight to be exact) that has kept him relevant in Hollywood. I’ve only seen half of his work, including The Holdovers (and bits and pieces of his 2004 Sideways). Of them, The Descendants (2011) being my favorite, and Downsizing (2017) being lower on the list. The Holdovers is a better film than Downsizing, however this begs the question: how good was The Holdovers and did it deserve an Oscar nomination for best picture? As usual, let’s find out.

Set in the winter of 1970, The Holdovers follows Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a classics professor at an all-male boarding school in New England. Paul, to be frank, isn’t the most likable person at the institution. Despite being passionate about his subject and taking his profession seriously, some feel he is a bit too professional. He failed one student who was the son of a U.S. senator, which led Princeton University to repeal his position at the famous school. As a punishment, the headmaster, Dr. Hardy Woodrup (Andrew Garman), has voluntold Paul to watch the students (i.e. the holdovers) that have been left behind during the holiday break. There’s Teddy Kountze (Brady Hepner), Alex Ollerman (Ian Dolley), Ye-Joon Park (Jim Kaplan), Jason Smith (Micheal Provost), and Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa). The last of these originally had plans with his family, but his mother cancelled the family trip to go on a honeymoon with her new husband. Another person staying behind is the cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’vine Joy Randolph), whose son died in Vietnam and was a student at the academy. Unlike a majority of the staff and students at the school, Paul gets along with Mary well and comes to her defense when one of the students makes an insulting remark about her cooking. During the holiday break, Paul forces the five students to study so that they can be ahead of their other classmates and exercise outdoors despite the frigid temperatures. One day, one of the student’s father’s flies to the campus via helicopter to pick his son up and agrees to take the others left behind as long as they get permission from their parents. Every student does except for Angus, who can’t get in touch with his mother and stepfather. Thus, he becomes the sole holdover. With the school now being occupied by Paul, Angus, Mary, and a janitor named Danny (Naheem Garcia), who occasionally drops by, these individuals must now try and get along through the holiday season until the rest of the students and faculty gets back from winter break.

When I heard about The Holdovers, I was a bit nervous before I even saw the trailer because director Alexander Payne’s previous film, Downsizing, was a major disappointment. I would explain why, but I feel that’s a review for another day. Let’s just say it made me rethink Payne as a great director. That said, The Holdovers was fortunately a major comeback for the acclaimed director, and also a film which was one of my favorites of 2023, at least top ten.

Because it’s set in the 1970s, the filmmakers took it upon themselves to film The Holdovers as if they were actually in the ‘70s. It is in the appropriate format of how filmmakers made movies in the ‘70s. Normally, I’m not a big fan of films that try to recapture an era with such effects as it could be seen as a cheap gimmick to capture nostalgia. But, as long as the story is good and it has relatable characters, then I can be onboard with it. Speaking of characters, Paul Giamatti and Dominic Sessa as Paul and Angus respectively were amazing as two opposites trying to get through the winter break without any major drama. I enjoyed seeing this comedic duo because they are two sides of the same coin. The more they get to know each other, the better they understand the other’s situation in life. In the third act, their relationship goes from student and teacher to almost father and son, which was something I like seeing in a two plus hour film. While I’m praising the two leads, one actress I do want to give major props to is the supporting actress, Da’vine Joy Randolph. She doesn’t have as much screentime compared to Giamatti and Sessa, but she does give a great performance. She is my pick for Best Supporting Actress at this year’s Oscars. I would say the same for Paul Giamatti as he’s nominated for Best Actor, but going against Cillian Murphy who has been favored to win for the title role in Oppenheimer will be a lofty challenge. Then again, anything can happen.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, The Holdovers is about opposites coming together and discovering more about each other through a unique scenario. This is something that I can relate in my daily life as a Catholic, especially when I work in an environment where I feel like I’m literally the only Christian, let alone Catholic. While I haven’t been in situations compared to the main characters with my co-workers, this film reminded me of how, despite how different we are when it comes to beliefs, I still find a way to form a bond with different people. This is extremely important, at least to me, because not everyone will have the same beliefs. If you’re stuck in a situation where you have to be together with a long period of time much like the characters in the film, you better find common ground despite the lack of faith the opposite person may have. You may not enjoy it, but life sometimes works like that. 

As I said before, I’m not 100% knowledgeable when it comes to Payne’s body of work, seeing only half of his movies. One of these days, I will hopefully get the chance to watch his other work. In the meantime, The Holdovers is a highly recommended film about opposites coming together and making the best of a bad situation. While it may not be my favorite film to come out in 2023, it’s definitely one that I would recommend if you don’t watch something over three hours such as Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon. Hopefully, Alexander Payne’s next film will be on the same level as The Holdovers instead of Downsizing. Otherwise, my thoughts moving forward with this director will be mixed. Hopefully, that won’t be the case.