The private all-boys school setting seems to historically be the setting of many stories exploring hypocrisy, tradition, and the dangers of forming assumptions about another person’s life. The Holdovers, the latest film from director Alexander Payne of Election (1999) and Sideways (2004) is no exception, but does something more with this tried and true setting and its wealthy, privileged boys at the centre of the narrative. Following a grumpy teacher and a single student as they “holdover” in the school over winter break, Payne explores stories of grief, judgment, and understanding in the feel-good film of the year.

The Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti, past collaborator of director Alexander Payne, as Mr. Paul Hunham, a disliked teacher at the all-boys private boarding school Barton Academy. When Hunham is told he is to remain at the school over the winter break to supervise the students who are unable to return home between semesters, he is left for 3 weeks with Angus, played by Dominic Sessa in his breakout role. Angus is a smart student, especially in Hunham’s ancient civilizations class, but is also a troublemaker, making him less than popular amongst the other students and faculty. As the two spend the holidays together, along with Mary, the school’s head cook and grieving mother played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the three get to know each other in unexpected ways, forging relationships that will most definitely impact each of their lives for years to come.

The performances in this film are most certainly what makes it as special as it is. Giamatti as the cranky Mr. Hunham perfectly encapsulates the teacher every student recognizes, with a grudge at his core guiding his teaching. Wanting to uphold tradition as he teaches the boys, while holding-over and as Hunham slowly opens up after all these years, Giamatti perfectly portrays this gradual growth and blossoming of his stubborn and stuck-in-his-ways character. Alongside Mr. Hunham is Angus, played perfectly by newcomer Dominic Sessa. In a role filmmakers looked to fill with a new talent, Payne discovered Sessa in the drama department of one of the schools they used to film on location, casting him as Angus, where he perfectly fits as the trouble-making yet deeply misunderstood high-school boy. Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Mary is the perfect third to their trio, becoming a fan-favourite throughout the film for her quick quips in response to the boy’s constant bickering, balanced with a stunning performance as a mother grieving the recent loss of her son.

The film is very dedicated to articulating the time the film takes place, in the early 1970s. From retro-designed production logos to cinematography that reflects an older movie and is a joy to look at, these aspects work together to transport the viewers back to this time in the 20th century, not only relying on the story and performances to do so. The music choices through the film are also wonderful, working throughout to set the tone. The melancholic music places viewers back in the 1970s as well as within the pretentious setting of the private school, while still feeling whimsical and moving throughout. Rather than simply paying homage, Payne injects the 70s directly into his film.

As Hunham and Angus get to know each other, their preconceived ideas about the other begin to shatter, using the assumptions many hold about private school and those involved to open up this discussion. As revelations come out about their pasts, through events they would not have been allowed to partake in had they not been holding over together, their past personas are shed for a new idea each holds about the other that impacts both of their pasts and futures.

The very notion of holding over, having Mr. Hunham, Angus, and Mary stay at the school together rather than being at home with family for the holidays, is also brilliantly used to explore the connections often formed between those unwanted in their family lives, instead finding a new family and a place within it. While initially giving each other quite negative first impressions, it is only through the forced holding-over that Hunham, Angus, and Mary can truly get to know who the others are. Payne’s use of the found-family trope is quite expected in this film, but comes off as a wonderful celebration of the power of the relationship between mentor and student, even when the mentor is as unconventional as Mr. Hunham, and the student is as erratic as Angus. Mary’s dynamic in the family adds much-needed closure for both herself and the men, comedically calling them out in their blindspots while also personally healing in the wake of the loss of her son who attended Barton.

First impressions are important, but they are not all that a person is. Alexander Payne’s latest film, The Holdovers, explores what a person is, and how they are understood by another once histories and pasts are revealed. People are a lot more alike than often thought to be. Although initially coming off as much different than one another, through the act of intentionally getting to know one another (or in Hunham and Angus’ experience being forced to get to know one another), viewers will realize that their pains, traumas, and experiences as human beings makes everyone a lot more alike than ever thought to be. This is the feel-good Christmas film that the world needs.

The Holdovers was screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in select theatres on October 27, with a wider release on November 10. Image courtesy of TIFF.