The Holdovers is a Christmas movie that begs the question, what’s it like for unhappy people during the happiest time of the year? Set in the 1970s, the latest film from director, Alexander Payne stars Paul Giamatti as a downtrodden and cynical, prep school teacher, Paul Hunham, who is forced to look after a group of boys with nowhere to go for the holidays. During this time, Paul forms an unlikely bond with his student Angus, played by Dominic Sessa, an intelligent young man whose reckless behavior got him expelled from his previous school. The two form a surrogate father and son relationship that drives the central conflict of the film as they grow to learn from one another. Da’Vine Joy Randolph rounds out the main cast as Mary Lamb, the school’s head chef who is grieving the loss of her son in Vietnam. This sentimental, charming, and at times melancholic film is among the very best of this year. 

Giamatti is an absolute force to be reckoned within this role. Paul Hunham is introduced to us as an unlikely hero, he’s curmudgeonly and patronizing with his students and aloof and awkward with his colleagues. He takes his job seriously as a teacher, flunking legacy students against the headmaster’s wishes, and is punished for it. Paul’s an outsider at his own school, continuously disrespected by those around him, despite being an alumni himself. There’s a deep sadness to Giamatti’s performance. The fear of rejection hangs heavy over his character and prevents him from being fully present in his own life. Missed opportunities, avoided decisions, and “what ifs?” haunt him at key moments throughout the film, allowing the audience to understand how Paul ended up as cynical and scared as he is. This vulnerability and rawness Giamatti brings to Paul prevents him from ever feeling pathetic, too one-note, or like the butt of the joke. 

Newcomer, Sessa surprises as Angus, a troubled boy left behind over Christmas break while his mom and new stepdad go on their honeymoon. This is Sessa’s first credited role, but you would not know it from his performance. Angus is an endlessly kind and empathetic character whose quick temper and rash decision making are understood as coming from a place of pain and abandonment. Like Giamatti, Sessa’s portrayal never feels pigeonholed to our first impressions of him either. Watching their rivalry turned to friendship is incredibly entertaining as the two grow to understand each other better all while delivering some of the film’s best jokes. 

At the heart and soul of The Holdovers is Randolph’s brilliant performance as Mary Lamb which just earned her a New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Supporting Actress. All three leads will likely receive Academy Award nominations for their roles, but Randolph is the one who actually has a shot at winning it. The character of Mary is a deliberate push back against films of the 20th century that only portrayed black women in one particular light. As the school’s head cook, this character could have easily been relegated to the background in the hands of a less skillful director and actor. Mary’s grief over the loss of her son is so central to her character, weighing heavily over everything she does. It is revealed that her son was also a student at the prep school. Unlike his classmates who all have wealthy parents, Mary was unable to afford for him to go to college, so he decided to deploy to Vietnam in hopes that he could afford school on the GI Bill. The guilt and pain Randolph is able to show here is both powerful and understated. 

Beyond The Holdovers three remarkable leads is a heartwarming story about growth, grief, and finding your place in the world. The love and respect Payne shows towards these characters is felt in every scene. Not a second is spent belaboring how wrong and stuck they are in and about their own lives. Instead, Payne allows for the characters to genuinely surprise and shape each other over the course of the film. The Holdovers ends with the overwhelming feeling that it is never too late to change the course of your life. A Christmas movie for the cynics who believe there is still hope for us yet.