The Holdovers

A boarding school dramedy that strikes a pleasing balance between cosy and uproariously mean, THE HOLDOVERS stars Paul Giamatti as Mr. Hunham, a curmudgeonly ancient history teacher loathed by the student body. The feeling is mutual: Hunham thinks the kids at Barton Academy are entitled brats, while the administration is, to his mind, a bastion of corruption. The year is 1970 and he has been forced to babysit student Angus (newcomer Dominic Sessa), a smart but cantankerous teen with a chip on his shoulder, who isn’t going home for the winter holidays. Joining them is the school’s cook Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), whose son was recently killed in Vietnam. Pitch-perfect performances and snappy, invigorating dialogue bring the trio of outcasts to life, while fiery commentary about race, privilege, class, and mental illness complicates Payne’s multi-pronged character study. THE HOLDOVERS’ frosty New England setting, biting repartee and grainy throwback aesthetic brings to mind the work of Hal Ashby, though the film also stands alongside tender Hollywood classics like DEAD POETS SOCIETY and GOOD WILL HUNTING. It’s a Christmas movie with a sardonic edge and a heavy dose of all-American realism. (Beatrice Loayza)

Alexander Payne: CITIZEN RUTH (1996), ELECTION (1999), ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002), SIDEWAYS (2004), THE DESCENDANTS (2011), NEBRASKA (2013), DOWNSIZING (2017)