I was sick and tired of my generation and TikTok, so I watched a movie that felt in every way like the 70s.
The more I’ve been exposed to the dizzying reels and fast-moving media of our digital generation, the more I’ve found myself craving the imperfect, lower-resolution, fuzzy and static-ridden media of early television and film. Hence, I was immediately charmed by the opening frame of “The Holdovers,” a vintage globe floating in a very fake but endearing space with the familiar block text “UNIVERSAL PICTURES” across it. As the film began, I sank deeper into my couch seat, quietly comforted by the crackling of pixels across the screen and the slightly unclear, muted audio of the dialogue.
Streaming on Peacock and available on other platforms, “The Holdovers” (2023), directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson, is set in a New England boarding school in the 70s and tells the story of three holdovers who stay in school over Christmas break: Paul Giamatti is Paul Hunham, a teacher who is a stickler for the rules; new actor Dominic Sessa is Angus Tully, a smart but troublemaking student; and Da’Vine Joy Randolph is Mary Lamb, the school cook who just lost her son in the Vietnam War. Both Giamatti and Randolph have been nominated for Oscars and I’m not the least shocked at all. Dominic Sessa, completely new to the professional acting scene, has also begun receiving awards and nominations for his performance—I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
I think what makes “The Holdovers” so distinctly great is how it feels like an immersion in real life, not a “film.” All great stories are immersive, whether they are set in a spaceship or an MMA tournament or even a fairy kingdom. But what makes “The Holdovers” uniquely immersive is how we are vividly shown the imperfection and discomfort of its setting, and yet, we are fully taken by it. We are in an abandoned, stoic school with a mean teacher and a troublesome student who don’t have much of anything exciting to do. But that’s the magic of “The Holdovers”: It draws us in, not just in spite of this “boring” setting, but because of it. We are immersed in the down-to-earth, sometimes bleak normalcy of it all. And here’s why:
It was great to see less privileged and more nuanced people at the school, including the lonely Korean student who was homesick for family still in Korea, the Mormon kid who didn’t fit in and of course, teacher Paul Hunham who very vocally hates the guts of his privileged students—I will never be able to forget his iconic opening line: “Philistines. Lazy, vulgar, rancid little Philistines.” And, of course, the twist that comes with the main boy Tully’s background adds layers to the privileged boarding school student trope as well.
This nuanced representation of a familiar setting and plot comes to life through the stellar performances of Giamatti, Randolph and Sessa. Giamatti is great at making other characters hate him by being mean in a strange way that endears us viewers to him. Happening to share the same first name with his character Paul Hunham, Paul G. truly is Paul H. throughout the film. Sometimes while watching a film, I would wonder to myself, “what was the actor thinking when they delivered this line?” or “man, they must feel embarrassed doing that for the role.” But not a single such thought flittered across my mind when I watched Giamatti, Randolph and Sessa. They simply were Paul H., Mary, and Angus—no one else.
Randolph was unforgettable: Her presence was soothing and commanding, and her handle on undergoing grief while working a job during the holidays felt painfully authentic and real. Sessa has broken into the Hollywood scene in the best way a young newbie could: acting the part of the raw, troubled, funny teenager who doesn’t know what the heck he is doing, a role that truly favors the unpracticed over the practiced and this is how Sessa wins.
Along with the nuanced characters and realistic performances, the excellent, brilliant way “The Holdovers” was shot to look, feel and sound like a real 70s film further draws us into its lonely school setting, making the “boring” magical. I think the film got the best of both worlds: the nostalgic, vintage atmosphere and audio of the 70s coupled with the better resolution of the 21st century. I loved the attention to detail in the use of dissolve transitions and music reminiscent of the 70s—in a way that it didn’t feel like a 2023 film set in the 70s, but like a 70s film set in its present day. I could’ve been watching an MV when “The Holdovers’” opening scenes rolled out, the music changing depending on the aura of the character on screen. A softer, classier piece plays for Paul Hunham’s entrance, then switches abruptly to a loud song for youths when we enter the boys’ dormitory for the first time.
For all these reasons—nuanced plot and characters, authentic performances and 70s style—”The Holdovers” captivates us and immerses us in the uneventful setting of a deserted school, showing us the magic of the “boring” moments in life, such as spending the holidays with a strict teacher and a cook who both turn out to be so much more.
The word I will use to describe this magic is “comforting,” which may seem a little less obvious. In a world that moves too fast, where I’ve seen too many a film with cuts that don’t even last a second consecutively mid-conversation so that a character replies to another before the other even gets to finish their sentence, I just needed something “old.” I needed something slower, something real, something both stuck in time and yet ageless. And that’s “The Holdovers.” If you’re ready to take an immersive, comforting trip back in time, pull up the film and get ready for an experience full of cinematic wonders and awful, real people who are people nonetheless.
