Film: The Holdovers

With exactly the right amount of feelgood, the Holdovers does precisely what the trailer says.

Centred around 3 main characters who each have experienced their own brand of tragedy. To start with, we go through the events that lead to the point where just 3 people, the professor the school cook and the student, remain at a boarding school over Christmas. The film takes off as each of their stories unfold and we eventually get to the film's heart.

Even though we are talking about the bereaved, the abandoned and the insecure, the film is gentle and at no point did I feel threatened that something really bad was going to happen. The bad had already taken place; that’s why we are here.

With a great cast, the witticisms of Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph with her divine one-liners and the newcomer who we are bound to see again soon, Dominic Sessa, I recommend it.

It’s highly watchable.

8/10