A rebuke of modernity masquerading as a smart feel-good movie

The Holdovers is a slow burning evolution of conflict in isolation, a feel-good movie that does not rely on musical theater crutches or fictitious airport hi-jinx to surface what glues important relationships together. The film is two weeks of three people struggling with loss of family and desertion. The school is an island slowly replacing the ocean with snow and walls shielding the outside world from view. Every shot is extremely myopic, we are very close the characters.

Mr. Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a father without a son, and Mr. Tully (Dominic Sessa) is a son without a father. The entire film is a meditation upon the relationships between parents and children from the lost Curtis Lamb and his mother Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) to the lost Quarterback Jason Smith (Michael Provost) being in a stubbornness contest with his literal helicopter flying dad who comes into pull the rest of the Holdovers to the ski slopes, abandoning our trio to solely exist with themselves for ten days.

There is not a lot wrong with the Holdovers, perhaps with the exception of the running time. I don't understand why it was nominated for Best Picture, but I do understand why Da'Vine Joy Randolph was nominated for best supporting actress. Randolph does a great turn as Mary, the grieving mother of Vietnam KIA Curtis Lamb, and is the character with the most depth, evolution, and clear motivation for her actions. Randolph manages to carry a world weary weight with her through every scene despite being the only truly happy person in the entire film.

There are many parallels between the world of 1970 and today, illustrated perfectly by Mr. Hunham's unprompted opinion of the state of the world during Christmas party small talk :

"the world doesn't make sense anymore. I mean, it's on fire. The rich don't give a shit. Poor kids are cannon fodder. Integrity is a punch line. Trust is just a name on a bank."

Hunham is a martyr awaiting a sword upon which to throw himself and Tully seems to be a walking weapons rack, they are a match made in heaven and a fitting denouement for the relative lack of action.

7.4 CGI'd eyeballs out of 10