Directed by Alexander Payne, The Holdovers was emotional, entertaining and filled with some of the best acting of the year, among an exceptional cast.

According to IMDB, “Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) — not his students, not his fellow faculty, not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over Christmas holiday in 1970, Paul remains at school to supervise students unable to journey home. After a few days, only one student holdover remains — a trouble-making 15-year-old named Angus (Dominic Sessa), a good student whose bad behavior always threatens to get him expelled. Joining Paul and Angus is head cook Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph)-an African American woman who caters to sons of privilege and whose own son was recently lost in Vietnam. These three very different shipwrecked people form an unlikely Christmas family sharing comic misadventures during two very snowy weeks in New England.“

This is wonderfully written and spends a great amount of time developing these three main characters of the film. Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are amazing in these roles, with these two characters that are so broken and pulled down by life. Giamatti and Randolph act their butts off.

Dominic Sessa played Angus, the one boy who winds up stuck at the school during break, does an excellent job as well, playing off Giamatti. He never looked out of place opposite Academy Award nominated actor Paul Giamatti.

The story was simple, but the characters were extremely deep and developed, bringing the conflict with them. This is not a plot driven film. It tells a story about these people and we see how they get through their lives.

The Holdovers was funny, dramatic, and full of a natural energy. The performances were so good, and I have a feeling that there may be one or two of these names will be back come Oscar time.

4.6 stars