Researching the people who make movies can throw up some extraordinary information.
As an example, I thought director Alexander Payne hadn’t done much except the exceptionally good Sideways (2004).
Turns out, I’ve seen a host of Payne-directed films including About Schmidt (2002), The Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013).
Another example is the CV of lead player Paul Giamatti – star of Barney’s Version (2010), the Film Club’s debut film.
Hardly romantic lead material as his character freely admits in this latest film, Giamatti has had a distinguished career, most recently as Chuck Rhodes in the TV series Billions (2016-23). But he hasn’t been in as many ‘good’ movies as I thought.
He has played smallish roles in famous films, Donnie Brasco (1997), The Truman Show and Saving Private Ryan (2008) and 12 Years a Slave (2013) and probably got his break-out moment playing cartoonist Harvey Pekar in the very different American Splendor (2003).
But his biggest star moment came in Sideways, a road trip movie about two wine nuts who go on a tour of the Napa Valley.
Many of Payne’s films involve a road trip and there’s one in The Holdovers (2023) which changes the course of life for career teacher Paul Dunham (Giamatti).
Aloof and disliked by many of his colleagues and students, Dunham’s life has been Barton, an all-boys’ school somewhere in Massachusetts. He follows the dictum of his mentor, a former headmaster of the school. Dunham has old-fashioned honour and determined not to give good grades to poor-performing students because their parents are wealthy campus benefactors.
This puts him in conflict with current headmaster Dr Hardy Woodrup (Andrew Garman), one of his former students.
It is 1970 and, according to Dunham, honesty, trust and integrity are virtually bumper stickers which have no real meaning to the world’s inhabitants.
Each year, the boarding school has left over kids at the Christmas break (parents are either too far away; doing something more important; or just don’t care). One teacher is designated to mind these ‘holdovers’ and the lies of a fellow teacher mean Dunham gets the role.
Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) is the head cook on duty to feed them. Mary doesn’t want to spend Christmas with her sister’s family as it is too soon after the death, while doing military service, of her own son.
One of the holdovers says his father may one day arrive in a helicopter and take them skiing and this occurs before Christmas Day.
However, the mother of Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) cannot be contacted and he is forced to stay. Tully, Dunham and Mary become a Christmas family and their shortcomings, sadnesses, regrets and humanity are exposed over time.
Further information would ruin the drama and sensitivity of the tale but lots of humorous dialogue by writer David Hemingson entertains thoroughly.
Like Dead Poet’s Society (1989) and Scent of a Woman (1992), The Holdovers deals with a ‘privileged’ school boy and his growth, influenced by an unlikely source. Giamatti more than matches Al Pacino and Robin Williams in his delivery of that source.
Randolph is powerful and touching in the supporting role. Sessa is superb as the troubled Tully and shares as much screen time as Giamatti.
But there is only one leading player in the The Holdovers and he makes it two-for-two in brilliant performances under Payne’s direction.
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I WRIGHT 