A curmudgeonly teacher at a New England prep school remains on campus to babysit a handful of students, with no family plans, during the Christmas holidays. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with the school’s head cook and a brainy but damaged troublemaker. Featuring Da’
Mark says:
“It’s a Wonderful Life” was our first Christmas film back in 2012, when we were still at the Apollo (now Vue) cinema. We had a larger than usual turn-out, with many folks attending for the first time; it was a rare opportunity to watch this film on the big screen but maybe we got lucky, as our club and pop-up screenings were still a rarity. Selecting a film for this time of year is much trickier now, with the instant availability of films on the streamers, and entire channels devoted to Christmas content. Then along comes The Holdovers! We’ve resisted screening this cracker (ha!) all year, but it’s absolutely worth the wait. You might have seen it before, but we’ll all watch a “classic” for the umpteenth time over the next few weeks, and I’m guessing The Holdovers will soon establish its place in the festive roster. We look forward to sharing The Holdovers with you this month and wishing you all the best for the holidays.
Reviews:
“A wry, artful heart-tugger.” Loren King, Newport This Week.
“Intelligent, caustic, funny, sad, tender, and melancholic…” Elsa Fernández-Santos, El Pais.
“A grownup drama for intelligent audiences, inviting a nuanced exploration of the complexities of human relationships, against the backdrop of classist rigidity.” Linda Marric, HeyUGuys.
“Giamatti gives a wonderful performance here. He roots his character’s frustrations not in cruelty but in misguided desperation — an eagerness to mould these boys into men better than himself.” Clarisse Loughrey, Independent.