THE HOLDOVERS - The Popcorn Junkies Movie Review (SPOILERS)

The Holdovers is a 2023 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by David Hemingson in his feature writing debut. Set in 1970, it 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 (in his film debut) respectively play a cafeteria administrator and one of the students who stays on campus. The Holdovers premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023, and was released in the United States by Focus Features on October 27, 2023. It received positive reviews and has grossed $26 million. The film was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and has received many other accolades, including Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Randolph) and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (Giamatti). It also received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Giamatti, Best Supporting Actress for Randolph, and seven British Academy Film Awards nominations, including Best Film and Director.