The Holdovers is nominated for some Oscars alongside major films like Oppenheimer or Poor Things. Still, the film is not discussed as much as others. MeinMMO author Nikolas Hernes finds this unfortunate because the film is really good and deserves every nomination.
The Holdovers is the new film by Alexander Payne. He has already been nominated for the Oscars 7 times and won twice for his screenplay for Sideways and The Descendants. His new film The Holdovers is currently nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, and I think the film can stand up to Oppenheimer and Poor Things.
The history teacher Paul Hunham, played by Paul Giamatti, is not really popular but is forced to look after the boarding school students who can’t go anywhere else during the winter holidays of 1970. Due to unfortunate events, he ends up alone with his student Angus Tully, played by Dominic Sessa, and the cook Mary Lamb, played by DáVine Joy Randolph, over the holidays at the boarding school.
Here you can get a first impression of the film:
The Holdovers is vulgar, funny, and emotional
The story of The Holdovers is simple. A teacher must spend the holidays with his student. But Angus is not an easy student. He has already been kicked out of several schools, is vulgar, rebellious, and constantly tries to cause trouble. But he is also smart and sensitive and suffers from his mother’s new relationship.
And Paul Hunham is not an innocent lamb either. He is mean, grades incredibly harshly, and is at odds with his principal. That all sounds shallow and simple at first, but therein lies the strength of the story, as the chemistry between the characters is fantastic. When Angus and Paul argue, it feels genuine, quite often really funny, and refreshingly explicit. Insults fly, and they cheekily mock each other.
The entire cinema and I laughed out loud at many points, more than at typical comedies
. These arguments make the emotional scenes even more effective. The sadness, loneliness, and anger are conveyed organically and vividly by each of the actors. Paul Giamatti’s nomination for Best Actor is 100% deserved.
The cook Mary is also wonderfully played by DáVine Joy Randolph and serves as a third party and peacemaker. She is just as vulgar as the other two but ensures that everyone sticks together through her personal story.
The wonderful and refreshing aspect of all these scenes and moments is the film’s finesse. The film achieves this primarily through its editing.
Simple, but effective and skillful editing
The Holdovers is nominated for Best Editing for a reason. The film manages to let all its scenes stand on their own; the moment and the actors’ performances are in the foreground. No wild cutting rampages or camera sweeps, it often works with zooms that recall old films. Also, there are wide camera perspectives, like long shots, between different scenes.
There you focus in on the characters interacting with each other. This gives the characters in the film a vibrant personality without needing to be actively described with words.
The sound is fantastic as well. Music is mostly used only within the film. The soundtrack does not blast in my ears in the cinema to indicate how I should feel. The dialogues, the characters, and the actors stand on their own and convince me that what is happening is real.
This cinema experience was incredibly refreshing for me, even though a lot is oriented toward old films. I was glad that I could decide for myself what I felt in each scene and that I wasn’t constantly being told how to feel.
I have rarely felt so comfortable in a cinema as I did with this film. Although many of the events are bitter and sad, the film has a positive note and allows me to feel my own emotions without much fuss.
I hope that alongside Oppenheimer and Poor Things, this film will also be recognized at the Oscars and I can recommend everyone to see it in theaters. Since January 25, 2024, you can watch the film. MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski can recommend another Oscar candidate: Killers of the Flower Moon is the strongest film of the year because it still hurts even after a week
