Considering all the movie ideas that have been tried and produced over many years, seeing a brand new story is more rare than it has ever been. One thing about the very good new movie “The Holdovers”, about a teacher and students held over the holidays at a wealthy private boys’ school is that this one is definitely something new.
The Holdovers stars Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham, who is an unhappy history teacher at an all boys private school in the year 1970. Paul is disliked by just about all of his students and colleagues and is carrying around baggage from his personal and professional life that is bleeding into his relationship with just about everybody he works with.
Due to several unusual circumstances, 6 boys have to stay at the school for a few days after holiday break and as Christmas approaches all the boys leave except for one, Angus Tully played by Dominic Sessa. It turns out that Tully’s parents are unreachable and he will have to remain at the school with Paul Hunham over Christmas and into the new year. The other person who stays at the school over the holidays is Mary Lamb played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph who is the head chef at the school.
What is most impressive about this film is not only the acting but the way, due to the growing friendships and relationships of these 3 very different people, what might be at first mundane or boring becomes interesting. As the story grows there is a great deal of transition as these 3 people learn about the pain of their personal lives, show empathy to each other, and change from 3 people who are mostly at odds and at the end of this story become friends.
As far as Paul Giamatti there is a high probability that he will receive his second Oscar nomination for this performance (his last was for his great performance in "Cinderella Man", released in 2006).
I agree with the very high 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for this great film about relationships, personal pain, holding down a job, and life. I give this movie my highest recommendation.
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