The Holdovers: The BRWC Review. By Nick Boyd.

“The Holdovers” is an insightful and bittersweet drama that takes place in a 1970’s remote New England all-boys prep school, the elite Barton Academy.  It mainly centers on a cranky and tough ancient history instructor named Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a school cook named Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) dealing with immeasurable grief from the recent loss of her Barton alumni son in the Vietnam war, and a bright but troublesome student named Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa) who all stay behind at the school for Christmas break.  (Initially, there are more students who are set to stay behind -“the holdovers” – but they all find themselves on a ski vacation, courtesy of an invite from the dad of one of the students.)  Over the course of the narrative, the three wildly different and flawed characters form a bond and eventually grow and influence one another in an impactful and heartwarming way.

Hunham is the kind of high expectations instructor who, right before Christmas Break is either handing back tests with failing grades or giving a reading assignment much to the displeasure of his students, who for the most part dislike him as does most of the faculty.  Early on, we see he is the antithesis of the warm and encouraging teacher played by Robin Williams in “Dead Poets Society.”  Thus, we are led to infer that Hunham’s strictness and rigorousness are why the head of faculty likely has him in charge of supervising the holdovers.  As the film progresses, this curmudgeonly instructor becomes someone able to gain our sympathy, through Giamatti’s layered performance, yet never resorts to over sentimentality.  

Mary, meanwhile, is broken down and withdrawn, drowning in grief over her son while preparing meals for the rich kids at Barton.  It is not easy for her to open up.  Her hurt and loneliness are palpable. Randolph’s understated performance, without her saying much, speaks volumes, and is powerful in its own way.

Tully, in the end, the only student left behind, while very bright and studious, is also dealing with unresolved family issues that nag at him – a modern-day version of Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye,” though less whiny.  His character is the most multi-faceted, with Sessa giving a remarkable, breakthrough performance as the lonely and left behind “holdover” with an uncertain future.  The rawness and vulnerability that he exudes rings true.  While he is initially a bit hard to embrace, our feelings change to empathy the more we learn about him and the secrets that he has kept to himself.  His relationship with Hunnam is a crucial component of the film, as each is able to learn and grow from the other.

The picture is also beautifully shot, with the cold, wintry setting perfectly evoking the isolation and loneliness that surrounds these three.  

The more we get to know these characters, the more we learn of their motivations, their fears, and their vulnerabilities. The film effectively delves into moral and relationship issues and on the whole is poignant.

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