Film Journal 2023: The Holdovers
Directed by Alexander Payne
Plays like a warm blanket with a hot drink. Cosy, pared back, simple, heartfelt. It’s also smart, or Aasmartly written character study that gives its two central characters, a cynical aging professor and a castoff delinquent student, plenty of room to develop.
One of the potential dangers of a film that leans this heavily into its character drama is that it stands to isolate viewers who won’t necessarily connect to these performances whole sale. If you don’t, there is a decent chance you will find the film a bit underwhelming. If you do though, this thing should work like a charm. The investment of the cast and the filmmakers in winning you over to its holiday themed premise, a clear ambition of the script, is evident either way. For my money, it’s a resounding success. I bought into the chemistry hook line and sinker. I loved the mix of dark humor, emotional concern, and relationship building. The concept of two seemingly polarizing figures coming to discover that they have more in common than they thought never gets old.
It’s the kind of film that I think stakes a firm claim in potentially becoming a future holiday classic down the road.
The Stories of my Life 