The Holdovers review: Paul Giamatti is pitch perfect in 1970s-era throwback comedy

Nineteen years ago, Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti proved to be quite the pairing in Sideways. Now, the director and actor are reunited in The Holdovers, which immediately makes you wish it didn't take nearly two decades for the pair to work together again.

Giamatti is brilliant in this comedy about three individuals, all of them lost in a way, who are able to find camaraderie when stuck together during the Christmas holiday. Payne, meanwhile, perfectly encapsulates the look and tone of 1970s filmmaking and is a perfect match for the script, written by David Hemingson. Add in great turns from Da'Vine Joy Randolph and newcomer Dominic Sessa and The Holdovers is one of the best movies of the year, both sharply funny and emotionally satisfying.

The Holdovers takes place at a New England boarding school in the early 1970s. As everyone prepares for the Christmas holiday, cranky history teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti) is forced to serve as a chaperone for the students who aren't able to go home, which includes the smart but rebellious and troubled Angus Tully (Sessa). Also helping out is the school's head cook, Mary Lamb (Randolph), who is spending her first Christmas without her son, who recently died in Vietnam.

This movie is a throwback to the Hollywood era where the likes of Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude) and Robert Altman (M*A*S*H) were among the marquee filmmakers of the day, a group that Payne — throughout his career but particularly with The Holdovers — would fit nicely in with. Payne recreates the feel of the 1970s era movie from the opening credits (including a decade-appropriate logo for Focus Features, which was founded in 2002) to the pace, which lets the characters and script breathe but never feels slow or stodgy. The Holdovers immediately places itself in the upper echelon of Payne's movies, with Election, Sideways and Nebraska.

Hemingson's script is wonderfully written, able to be both hilarious but also have a rich depth of character in its three leads, giving its talented performers plenty to work with. And boy do they ever.

It is a pitch perfect performance from Giamatti, who plays Hunham's derision for others incredibly well, but there's always an ember of warmth that the audience can see that allows us to be on this side from the start. Giamatti has somehow snubbed for an Oscar nomination for Sideways, here's hoping the Academy doesn't make the same mistake as he is definitely worthy of  Best Actor nom.

Meanwhile, Randolph, best known by most for her comedic work in the likes Only Murders in the Building and The Lost City, is heartbreaking as a grieving mother, with a couple of emotional scenes that may nearly wreck all but the stone hearted. Sessa, who makes his screen debut, is a great find who more than holds his own with his veteran co-stars and effectively portrays the rebellious teen who is truly lonely and in need of some compassion.

Some of the other highlights of The Holdovers includes its fantastic soundtrack, which includes both iconic songs from the 1970s and some lesser known gems that always fit the moment perfectly. We also mentioned how the editing helps create the perfect pace of the movie, which should come as little surprise the movie was edited by longtime Payne collaborator, Kevin Tent.

They don't make movies like The Holdovers all that often any more (a fact that Payne certainly laments). It is a straightforward, adult-leaning comedy (or dramedy, if you prefer), with no big conceit, just a great script, grade-A acting and a director who knows how to bring it all together in a perfect package.

The Holdovers is now playing in select theaters across the US, with its nationwide release coming on November 10. It releases in the UK on January 19, 2024.