#TIFF23: “THE HOLDOVERS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Director Alexander Payne is in top form with the delightful Dramedy The Holdovers.

The Film takes place in 1970 over Christmas break at an elite boarding school in small-town Massachusetts. It follows strict Professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) who’s gifted the undesirable assignment of supervising the students unable to return home for the Christmas holidays. Resolved to have the students suffer along with him, he makes them start the next semester’s assignments. However, when only one student remains, the intelligent but belligerent Angus (Dominic Sessa), the two begin to see themselves in each other.

The Holdovers is an intimate, touching portrait of broken, lonely people connecting. Realizing they’re not alone. This is told through three central characters, Hunham, Angus and school cafeteria manager Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). Each of them outcasts and harbouring their own unique melancholy within. Screenwriter David Hemingson and Payne keep the cause of some of their pain a mystery until the end, except for Mary.

She’s just lost her only son in the war. Randolph gives a heartbreaking performance as a mother experiencing her first Christmas without her son.  Randolph’s impeccable comedic talent earnestly shines through creating authentic levity woven within the pain. It’s a successful dramatic turn that will have people knocking on her door.

Meanwhile, Hunham and Angus’s reason for despair remains hidden behind their quick wit and short tempers. Giamatti gave one of the finest performances of his career. He plays Hunham as eccentric yet stern, cruel yet empathetic. Similar to Hunham, Angus has a chip on his shoulder. In his first-ever feature role, Sessa stuns. It’s a performance of a seasoned Actor. He portrays the anguish Angus carries and his desire to be understood.

Overall, The Holdovers is a moving exploration of loneliness over the holiday season with captivating performances and a winning Soundtrack.

The Holdovers screens at TIFF ’23:

Monday, September 11 at 3 PM at Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Tuesday, September 12 at 12 PM at Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Saturday, September 16 at 6 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

Sunday, September 17 at 9 AM at TIFF Bell Lightbox

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