"The Holdovers”, the new feature film by Alexander Payne, is a sensitive and enthusiastic tribute to American cinema from the 1970s.

The Holdovers

"The Holdovers”, the new feature film by Alexander Payne, is a sensitive and enthusiastic tribute to American cinema from the 1970s. It is during this decade that boarding school teacher Paul (Paul Giamatti) ends up having to supervise students who were unable to return home during the Christmas break. Grouchy and bitter, Paul's personality clashes with that of Angus (newcomer Dominic Sessa), a problematic teenager with family issues. Isolated together, they find themselves having to understand each other in the best way possible.

The charm of “The Holdovers” is that it is, in a way, three films in one: it is, at the same time, an odd buddy comedy, a Christmas film, and – in its second half – a road movie. It combines the “feel good” factor of these genres with Payne’s signature dry, acid humour and a healthy dose of nostalgia.

Its painstaking reconstruction of the 1970s film aesthetic has its charm but the film's major asset is its script – penned by David Hemingson – which focuses on flawed characters going through an era of great social and generational conflicts. The duel of forces between Paul and Angus reflects the anger and disenchantment that the United States was experiencing at the time. These feelings would gain a political dimension in the following years, with the Watergate scandal, the disintegration of the hippie dream and the moral hangover of the Vietnam War.

In the middle of the two, the cook Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) acts as a bridge and delivers another side of the story: one far from the privileges of money and the academic world, based on hard work and the pain of losing a son in war. Giamatti and Randolph give incredible performances and it's unsurprising both won Golden Globes and are tipped to win the Oscars for their roles here..