The following review contains slight spoilers
Sitting cross-legged on my dorm room bed, with tears streaming down my cheeks, I watched my computer screen fade to black to the tune of “Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying” by Labi Siffre as my new favorite film, “The Holdovers,”came to a close. “The Holdovers,” written by David Hemingson and directed by Alexander Payne, is a faux-1970s quintuple-Oscar-nominated masterpiece that follows struggling high school student, Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), his ill-tempered teacher, Mr. Hunham (Paul Giamatti), and the grieving school cook, Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), as they spend their Christmas break at Barton Academy boarding school. Throughout the film, these three lovably quippy, yet damaged and struggling characters are put through two hours and fifteen minutes of tasking and even traumatizing events like having a bad time at a Christmas party, going to the hospital, making cherries jubilee on the hood of a car, and almost getting into a bar fight. These antics provide an entertaining time for the viewer but also assist the three characters in developing a bond with each other and creating the makeshift family that they are all in desperate need of. The relationship between Angus and Mr. Hunham is particularly poignant as the two characters, who begin the film at complete odds with one another, realize through their time spent together that they are not as dissimilar as they once believed. At times, the film is witty and hysterically ridiculous, but it balances this hilarity with an emotional exploration into topics such as grief, class systems, parental trauma, and the uncertainty and fear of life during the Vietnam War.
Besides just taking place in the 70s, “The Holdovers”is filmed and produced in a way that is reminiscent of the films made during that decade. By incorporating 70s filming techniques, such as handheld camera filming, adding grain to and recoloring the footage in post production, and even going so far as to use the 1970s film studio logos (complete with a 1970 copyright sign) at the opening of the film, cinematographer Eigil Bryld and the production staff created a lovely (although admittedly not perfect) imitation of a film made in the 1970s, evocative of Payne and Bryld’s favorite 1970s films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation”and Hal Ashby’s “The Last Detail.”
In a time when the film industry is currently saturated with remakes, adaptations, sequels, superhero franchise installments, and cash-grabs of all other kinds, films like “The Holdovers” stand out even more, and are more important than ever. The genius of “The Holdovers” and the reception it has received are a testament that compelling and unique films are still relevant and necessary at a time when the majority of most current films are commercial efforts to capitalize on existing films. Creating and watching films that inventively and creatively tell stories that exhibit human experience and emotion in a way that viewers can resonate with and learn from, has always been the most joyful and principal aspect of making and watching films. Through Hemingson’s writing, Payne’s direction, and the compelling acting of Giamatti, Sessa, and Randolph, another one of these crucial films was brought to life.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.