The Holdovers (2023)

Rating: 9.0

The Holdovers is a truly special, wonderful, and most of all, wholesome film! They don’t make movies like this anymore! Frankly, if you would have told me that this was a classic film from the 70s I would have believed you! From the look and feel of the film, to the type of story it tells, this is the type of film I miss seeing so much! It feels like the type of movie that you watch every holiday season, curling up under a blanket near a fire while it’s too cold outside. It’s cozy. It’s sweet. It’s funny. And it’s heartwarming. What I would most compare The Holdovers to is films like Dead Poets Society. I loved watching this teacher and student come to find understanding in each other and overcome their differences while finding similarities. It’s just so pure and enjoyable. I loved this movie - it’s an instant classic for me and one of the best this year! And I was surprised to feel this way, I didn’t expect much and when it started I was doubtful, but before I knew it I was completely sucked in and never looked back. The film has such a great sense of grief and joy mixed together - it is beautifully bittersweet! Paul Giamatti is superb as the tough teacher, Da’Vine Joy Randolph steals every moment she’s on screen and Dominic Sessa is a revelation. Each are masking deep pain under the surface in this empathetic, heartfelt and funny film. The Holdovers is a return to form for Alexander Payne — it’s his best since Sideways — and it is quite possibly one of the best holiday films ever! Light-hearted and comedic while also having a sense of darkness and a lot of heavy emotion to it. Definitely one of the most heartfelt films this year! I LOVED it!

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Film Info:

Premise: A cranky history teacher at a remote prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a troubled student who has no place to go.

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Focus Features

Directed by Alexander Payne

Written by David Hemingson

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston

Runtime: 2hr 13min

Rating: 14A

Comedy, Drama

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IMDb Rating: 8.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

RT Audience Score: 92%

RT Critic Average: 8.4/10

RT Audience Average: 4.5/5

Metacritic Score: 81

Letterboxd: 4.1/5

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Fun Fact: Even though the movie features a heavy film look reminiscent of the 1970s, the movie was entirely shot digitally on the ARRI Alexa Mini. All the hallmarks of celluloid film like the film grain, halation, dirt, and gate weave were added in post-production.

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Trailer: