The Holdovers is a quiet, thoughtful film, a worthy entry in the New England artistic tradition of contemplative musings. Like a Robert Frost poem, its action is minimal, its setting is poignant, and its conclusions remain unspoken.
Its success hinges on three excellent acting performances, any of which could have sunken the film had a lesser effort been made. In fact, the three stars, especially Paul Giamatti, routinely rescue cliché lines and situations with offbeat, surprising deliveries. In other words, while the screenplay itself is sometimes too cute for my liking, the cast (mostly) finds enough credibility in it to retain authenticity. There’s no doubt that the film, because of its plot, exists in the shadow of Good Will Hunting (1997), so I waited in terror for it to eventually assume the painful corniness of its predecessor—but the moment never came.
The Holdovers is about breaking free of the past and setting a new course for oneself. It’s also about a particular moment in time—the Vietnam War era—in which the mid-century American optimism had begun to fade, and greed had taken hold of the country in new, alarming ways. The movie’s three main characters reject this new normal: they’re the “holdovers” who still strive to find nonmaterial fulfillment with the help of family and friends. A story that will resonate for the foreseeable future.
–Jim Andersen