Alana's Old Favorites and New Discoveries - April 2024

Hi all! I’m Alana, and I’m the Adult Programs Coordinator for Ida Rupp Library. My blog posts will consist of older favorites and recommendations along with new finds in the wide world of entertainment. I never limit myself based on audience or genre, so whatever your preference, I hope I can help you find your next watch, read, listen, or play-through!

This month, I have a relatively new discovery to talk about: The Holdovers. The movie came out near the end of 2023, but was not available to stream or watch on DVD until the beginning of 2024. It takes place near Christmas in 1970s New England, where the spoiled-rich young men of prep school Barton Academy are preparing for a two-week winter break. Paul Giamatti’s character, curmudgeonly history teacher Paul Huhnam, is given the lackluster duty of supervising the titular “holdovers”, students who must stay behind at the boarding school because their families are unable or unwilling to bring them home for the holidays. Among them is student Angus Tully, a smart-yet-troubled junior played by newcomer Dominic Sessa. Also tasked with staying behind is the school’s head cook Mary Lamb (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who struggles through the first holiday season without her only son after he is killed in the line of duty during the Vietnam War.

The Holdovers takes its audience on a journey with these three characters, attentive to the simultaneous melancholy and joy of the holiday season. It is a serious story, but like life, comedy weaves itself into the actions and words of each character. Although our protagonists butt heads at the start, their transition into a trio who care for and have found comfort in each other is organic and thoughtful. There are many layers to each character, developed and revealed over the movie’s two-hour runtime. They lie for the benefit of one another and reveal truths about themselves in turn. If you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely laugh and possibly cry at the simple authenticity of the “found family” dynamic found in The Holdovers. Truly, it is no surprise that this film was nominated for and won so many awards, including Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s emotional win of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In the interest of remaining spoiler-free, I’ll leave my description of The Holdovers here. If you are interested in watching for yourself, there are several copies of the film in our catalog, or it can be streamed through Peacock. As always, feel free to reach out if you enjoyed. Happy watching!