Lonely, Lost, Left Behind The Holdovers is a newly released Alexander Payne directed film. Paynes earlier work includes most notably The Descendants and Sideways and if you've seen either of those films you know just how talented a directer he is. I have being seeing the trailer for the Holdovers before what films like every film I've seen for the past month. In that time the film was released over in the US but it's only just been released over here in the UK (more on that later).
The film is about three people who are forced together during the Christmas period as they're stuck at a Boarding school each for their own reasons. The first and arguably main character of the film is Angus Tully played phenomenally by Dominic Sessa. Angus is a troubled teenager who's stuck at his boarding school due to some complications with his parents which I can't go into. Paul Hunham played by the wonderful Paul Giamatti who is rightfully getting a lot of plaudits for his work on this film. Paul is a very traditional teacher, hated by the students for his harsh marking and general pessimism, He's forced to stay at the school to look after Angus. Then there's Mary the school cook played by Da'Vine Randolph who is equally as brilliant as the other two. Mary is obviously their to cook their meals but also has her own personal connections with the school herself.
The film shows the three characters learning about eachother and if you want to see what I would consider to be perfect character development in a film then I highly recommend this one. It's a simple premise but one that felt really unique which is not something that I can say about many new releases. Amongst the drama there's also some humour thrown in for good measure, not all of it landed for me. At times the jokes are quite subtle however even boring old me laughed once or twice.
Paul Giamatti is getting all the plaudits for this film however all three actors do a great job of portraying their brilliantly written characters. The stand out for me was Dominic Sessa as Angus, this is his first ever acting role as far as I can tell and to be going toe to toe with and often stealing scenes from a legend like Giamatti should tell you just how talented this young man is. He's definitely an actor to keep an eye out for in the future. Da'Vine Randolph is also fantastic, she says so much with just small eye adjustments.
Overall this film really is a must see, a heartwarming, emotional and funny story that deals with themes such as mental health, class and age and does so with style.
WHY IS THIS FILM ONLY GETTING RELEASED IN THE UK NOW???
Although a large portion of the film is set around Christmas time it's not technically a Christmas film. That being said however the films themes and messages are perfect for Christmas and I can't help but feel this film would have done better at the UK box office had it of been released in December. It's a real shame as this film is a must watch if you get the chance.