REVIEW: THE HOLDOVERS: A Yuletide Tale for Misfits Everywhere, Entre-Nous.

I have had mixed feelings about Alexander Payne's movies for awhile. Years ago, after seeing Sideways with a friend, we went out for a glass of wine and deliberately ordered Merlot (if you've seen the movie, you know that the main characters were Pinot Noir snobs). Then came The Descendants, a highly touted dramedy that featured a nuanced performance by the actor George Clooney. Again, I was underwhelmed.

Knowing that Payne loves to combine classic comedy riffs with quirky characters and sometimes absurd plot twists, I couldn't help but wonder why some of his films just didn't completely click with me. It's not that Payne's films are bad. Overall, he's produced a solid resume of quality movies. They just weren't the kinds of films I wanted to see again and again. For me Payne's movies seem to miss the cinematic umami that takes a film from good to great.

I began thinking that maybe his first projects were my favorites: 1996's Citizen Ruth which featured an impressive Laura Dern in the tale of an ordinary woman whose unplanned pregnancy suddenly makes her the center of attention. Various, even obvious, conflicts and issues about women, pregnancy, and the media ensue to great effect.

Or the offbeat Election (1999) which starred a young Reese Witherspoon as a "Little Miss Type A" high school student who uses extreme, arguably unethical, measures to win the student government presidential election. Matthew Broderick co-stars as her well-intentioned but clueless social studies teacher. I've re-watched Election a few times over the years and it generally holds up as a dark, if occasionally strange, tale. The remaining movies on Payne's filmography are all generally good, if sometimes depressing, movies, usually punctuated by off-beat situations and strange, even unsettling outcomes.

So it was with a bit of skepticism that I watched the trailer for his latest effort, The Holdovers. The preview suggests that the film is a hybrid of Dead Poets Society (1988) and Scent of a Woman 1992), with private schools, misfit students and burnt-out teachers as the main components. Poets and Scent garnered Best Actor Oscar nominations for Robin Williams and Al Pacino, respectively, and a long overdue win for Al (though many critics really hated the role and his performance, one calling it "one long bark"). The Holdovers has already touted Paul Giamatti (a Payne favorite) for Best Actor and Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Best Supporting Actress, so we're off and running in a sort of Poets meets Scent inThe Breakfast Club. If you've got your 1980s-90s teen flicks in order, you'll know what I mean.

The Holdovers takes place as 1970 draws to a close, during winter break at a fictional Massachusetts prep school called Barton (the movie was filmed in and around the Greater Boston area). Much hated by both students and faculty, history teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti), a former Barton student, has taught there so long he seems as ancient as the relics he rhapsodizes about in his Ancient Civilizations class with nary a clue about how to connect with his students.

Calling them "lazy, vulgar, rancid little philistines," he gleefully returns mostly failing exams to his class an hour before winter break and then gives them homework to complete during vacation.

Student Kountze: Sir, I don't understand.

Hunham: That's glaringly apparent.

Kountze: I can't fail this class.

Hunham: Oh, don't sell yourself short, Mr. Kountze. I truly believe that you can.

Ba-dum dum. It's good Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson set The Holdovers in 1970 as no teacher today could hold a job if they displayed Hunham's demeanor in class or his derision toward students. Determined to educate his students using archaic methods and unreasonable standards, Hunham seems incapable of or interested in understanding how to prepare them for a post-modern late-twentieth world.

This year, he draws the short straw when one of his colleagues backs out of supervisory duty for the "holdovers" of the title - the few students who, for family reasons, have nowhere to go during the break. With the promise of extra pay and the current headmaster's unenthusiastic appreciation, Hunham begrudgingly accepts the two-week assignment and agrees to stay on campus and "babysit" the five holders.

Then, in an awkward and really unnecessary plot twist, the five holders dwindle to one: Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa, himself a sophomore currently on leave from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama), a bright but disruptive student (Is there any other kind?), who has already been kicked out of three private schools and appears poised to make Barton the fourth. So it's Hunham and Tully, plus Barton's cook, a world-weary, yet wise black woman, Mary Lamb (a smart and affecting Randolph), who wind up spending the holidays together.

Are you starting to grasp the scenario? Will the curmudgeonly teacher warm to the troubled student? Will the student open up about his personal heartache to his much-despised instructor? How will Mary, whose only son was recently killed in Vietnam, handle the tension between the two and the situation they are in? Three loners sharing what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.

If this all sounds a bit formulaic, it is. Fortunately, Payne avoids the sometimes schmaltzy traps are common in movies of this kind. We expect a thaw between Hunham and Tully, and we want to see how Mary assists in that process. It's almost like The Wizard of Oz: Will Hunham find his heart? Will Tully garner the courage to face his demons? Will Mary put them on the Yellow Brick Road to resolution? (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I'll leave it to you to determine if the rest of the trip is worth the ride, but I will say that, like other Payne movies I've sat through, The Holdovers grew on me. The writing is clever and, at times, the interactions between the three actors is genuine and poignant. I will not be surprised to see any or all of them on the short list when Oscar nominations are announced in a few months, especially Randolph, whose strong performance is driven by tragedy and punctuated with wisdom.

I won't give the ending away, but I will say that, in some ways, I would have liked something more satisfying, especially given what the three characters experienced in their time together. There's closure, for sure, and resolution, but nothing to suggest that any of events of that winter break made a significant difference.

In Dead Poets Society, for example, Robin Williams' idealistic English teacher, John Keating, who may be the complete opposite of Giamatti's sourpuss Hunham, still has a few moments in the film that demonstrate his impact. If you've seen Poets, you know the scene where Keating coaxes a timid Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke) to create an impromptu poem. I've shown that scene countless times since in film and education classes because it shows so beautifully the power of teachers to inspire. Later, during the movie's final scene, when Todd stands on his desk and firmly declares, "O captain, my captain" to the departing Keating, it's hard not to embrace the idea that teachers do matter and that they can change lives in positive ways by unlocking untapped potential and talent.

Some of you are probably cringing that what I've just described in that last paragraph would better be deemed "pure sentimental claptrap," but in the hands of director Peter Weir, Dead Poets Society never descends to a mawkish level of nostalgia. Buoyed by Williams' engaging performance and the credible rapport he builds with the students, Dean Poets Society remains a beloved classic thirty-four years after its release.

I can't predict if The Holdovers will grab your heart in that way or if it will become the next new favorite film about students and teachers and how they navigate the natural antagonism that seems to permeate American schools. It's worth including on your holiday movie list, but be prepared that the ending may leave you more unsettled than satisfied.

One more thing of note: In a film that takes place during the Christmas holidays, most of the soundtrack is, of course, Christmas hymns and music. However, one effective choice Payne inserts throughout the film is "Crying Laughing Loving Lying," a 1972 single from British singer/songwriter/poet Labi Siffre. If Payne circumvents the climactic drama and emotion that might be expected in this type of story, he makes up for some of it by weaving Siffre's sad, lyrical folk poem throughout the movie's narrative.

I've included the link here, as it clearly sets the bittersweet, wistful tone that deepens the loneliness and heartbreak that are the movie's core.

https://youtu.be/o75BbNp8dLU?si=hmNL3yCjr-bbDhwB

After all, whether any of the song's four gerunds does us any good doesn't really matter. We somehow gravitate toward them, one way or another, in triumph or in sorrow. But, at least for now, like Mr. Hunham and Angus, let's keep that thought and other secrets) entre-nous.