I loved this movie. It was unexpectedly riveting due in large part to Paul Giamatti’s amazingly genuine performance. The story was heartwarming but not sappy. The characters evolved through their own flaws and strengths without special effects or extraneous plot motifs. This movie was about people interacting with each other and changing because of those interactions. The story, the acting, the wintry backdrop … I felt like I could even smell parts of this movie (when you watch it, you’ll know what I mean). This is a “must-see.”
From Wikipedia: The Holdovers is a 2023 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson. Set in the winter of 1970-71, the film stars Paul Giamatti as a strict classics teacher at a New England boarding school who is forced to chaperone a handful of students with nowhere to go on Christmas break. Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa play the school cafeteria manager and one of the students who stays on campus.
