Review: Paul Giamatti, Alexander Payne deliver in 'The Holdovers'

To truly appreciate the range Paul Giamatti possesses as an actor, fans will be able to look to his role as Paul Hunham, a teacher at a New England prep school in the early ‘70s in “The Holdovers,” which hits screens Friday.

Then, they can cast an eye to his brilliant television work on the show “Billions” as an arrogant, ambitious, vengeful United States attorney and wannabe politician.

No two roles could be so vastly different, and few actors could inhabit them as well as Giamatti, the Oscar nominee who has elevated every character role he’s taken over the years.

In “Holdovers,” he re-teams with director Alexander Payne, who directed him in his Oscar-nominated turn in the film "Sideways."

Giamatti portrays Hunham, a put-upon, curmudgeonly history teacher stuck at his elite prep school chaperoning a small pack of students over the holidays.

It wasn’t even Hunham’s turn to draw the “holdover” assignment, but the headmaster had to find a way to slap his hand for costing the school a significant alumni donation.

What starts as a group, however, quickly turns into Hunham babysitting Angus (Dominic Sessa) after the others find a way to free themselves from the torment of Hunham’s glaring gaze and a frigid clinic where they were forced to bunk.

Adding to the proceedings is the school nutritional director Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is enduring her first holiday season alone after the death of her son, a student at the school.

Each of those characters is going through something, forcing them to come to grips with their respective lives.

Hunham and Mary commiserate over shared experiences, and their interactions make for some wry observations and laughs as Payne, directing from a script from David Hemingson, tackles issues of classicism and racism with subtlety.

But the heart of the film comes courtesy of the evolving relationship between Hunham and Angus as they are forced to realize they misjudged the other and share more in common than they would ever admit.

It’s a teacher-student relationship that develops into a friendship over a short span of time, with Hunham, a man who knows his time has passed, realizing he can help someone avoid his life of regret.

Giamatti gives Hunham, despite a mostly dour disposition, a sense of integrity that works well with his obvious intelligence. He can be arrogant, but that arrogance comes from a legitimate place.

The movie also shows off Payne’s effective directing skills. Angus could have been given free reign to be a spoiled brat who undergoes a redemptive, revelatory moment, but Payne is far too subtle for that. Instead, he gives the audience an emotional journey that feels authentic. Sessa, too, does it justice.

“The Holdovers” represents Payne and his collaborator Giamatti at the top of their game and definitely merits viewing.

George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal.

Review

Movie: “The Holdovers”

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa

Directed by: Alexander Payne

Running time: 2 hours 13 minutes

Rated: R for language, some drug use and brief sexual material

Grade: B+

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Review: Paul Giamatti, Alexander Payne deliver in 'The Holdovers'