“The Holdovers” is one of those heart-warming films that you can easily rewatch every year

It might be a bit strange to recommend the perfect Christmas movie in January. But that new instant classic by Alexander Payne Retainers It won't officially open in Dutch cinemas until after Christmas, which is absolutely crazy. The eighth feature film by Payne, the master of cruel tragicomedy (Sideways, election, nebraska), after all, it feels like a new holiday tradition: a heartwarming movie you can easily rewatch every year.

After Payne gets a mildly sci-fi climatic comedy Downsizing (2017) The Director's Return Retainers Back into familiar territory, with a tragicomedy about a middle-aged man who has lost touch with his environment. The man in crisis here is Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a pedantic history teacher who finds little favor at his boarding school. He's a classic loner who has made his life's work. He has no social life, due to the condition he has a rather distinct body odor, and then there is that lazy eye, which has earned him the nickname “cross-eyed” among the students.

Given his social status, Hunham is the ideal person to supervise a group of “leftovers” who cannot return home over the Christmas holidays. In the end, there are only three souls left on the cold campus: Hunham, the cook and grieving mother Mary (Daphne Joy Randolph) and the smart, rebellious teenager Angus (freshman Dominic Cessa), who has lost his father and is not welcome at home. Briefly. . The trio has to make something together.

It all takes place in Massachusetts in the 1970s, and Payne makes good use of that period Retainers In making everything look like a typical 70s movie. Whether it's the soundtrack, the smooth camera transitions, or the light color palette: Payne turns it into a retro party, clearly inspired by classic 70s tragi-comedies like Harold and Maud in Final details.

Payne, as is often the case in his films, brings out the best in his leading characters. Giamatti was born to play Hunham: a highly intelligent orator who fails on an emotional level, but gradually opens his heart more and more. The impressive Randolph is on track for an Oscar, and Sissa – who has never been in front of a camera before – is a complete revelation.

Retainers It doesn't rely on big surprises and excels at satisfying predictability, without becoming too sentimental. Payne allows his three lost souls to grow closer to each other, and then, armed with a few life lessons, they go their separate ways again.

These are the typical ingredients of a Christmas movie, although Payne doesn't want to describe his film as such. We Invited Retainers Then simply name it a modern tragic classic that moves easily, warms, and cheers even outside the holidays.