Directed by Alexander Payne
Written by David Hemingson
In theaters November 3, 2023
THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).
Some bits of the trailer feel cheesy, a bit by the numbers. But I can't help but be intrigued. Seems like the cast has good chemistry, so this has promise.
Hate to say that this does look a little safe and hackneyed; Payne retreating to familiar ground after the critical and commercial failure of Downsizing. I'm sure it'll be fine, in a cosy way, but it's a shame that he doesn't seem to be challenging himself.
Unknown actor! The student lead alongside Paul Giamatti has no other credits. That alone has me interested cuz in this footage he seems quite good.
this was one of the biggest hits of TIFF this year. I loved it. Payne is back, baby!
if I'm not mistaken, trailer includes a song by Damien Jurado. I do not recall his music ever being featured in a trailer film. I could be wrong though. either way, that's cool with me.
Alexander Payne is the thinkingman's David O. Russell; this is not a compliment.
That's a fucking hilarious way to put it
Unsurprisingly, I adored this movie :yabbse-smiley:
As did I. My Letterboxd comment: A somewhat by the numbers yet cozy tale of three withdrawn people stuck in a boarding school in 1970. I loved how the film made me feel, and I'm a sucker for the aesthetic. Some beats get dropped, and some are predictable, yet still I smiled a lot and enjoyed the journey. I've loved Giamatti since American Splendor (er, actually Storytelling), and it's so nice to see him again.
It makes me want want to revisit Payne's other work.