Holdovers, The

Story

Set in 1970 at an elite boarding school called Barton Academy, this movie is about students who have nowhere to go for the Christmas holidays. They remain at school and are known as the ‘holdovers’.

Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a curmudgeonly, traditionalist classics teacher, much disliked by students and staff alike. When he refuses to sacrifice his integrity by failing the son of a wealthy donor, the principal, Dr Woodrup (Andrew Garman), also a former student of Hunham’s, punishes him by giving him the job of supervising the holdovers.

Hunham is joined by Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) the head cook, Danny (Naheem Garcia) the janitor, and the holdover students – Teddy Kountze (Brady Hepner), Jason Smith (Michael Provost), Ye-Joon Park (Jim Kaplan), and Alex Ollerman (Ian Dolley). Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), another student, also joins them because his planned holiday to St Kitts is cancelled by his mother and new husband at the last minute. Angus is a brilliant but troubled young man who causes trouble for all around him.

Just before Christmas Day, one of the boy’s parents arrives in a helicopter to take the boys on a skiing trip. Angus can’t go because Hunham hasn’t been able to contact Angus’s mother for permission. Hunham and Angus spend the next few weeks getting to know each other and discover that they’re more alike than either could have imagined.

Themes

Boarding school; parental abandonment; integrity; self-discovery; mental health

Violence

The Holdovers has some violence. For example:

There’s some verbal arguing and shouting.
Someone makes a racist remark to the Korean student, Ye-Joon.
Angus yells insults at Koontze, who ends up punching Angus. They end up in a fight but separate before Hunham can determine who started it.
Angus runs away from Hunham and disobeys him by going into the gymnasium. He jumps over a pommel horse and dislocates his shoulder. He screams in agony.
Angus upsets a man in a bar who has an artificial arm with a hook for a hand. The man becomes very aggressive and threatens Angus. He chases him out of the pub and Hunham placates him.
Hunham admits to Angus that, when he was an academic at Harvard, he hit a man with his car after the man accused him of plagiarism. In fact, it was the other man who had been guilty of plagiarism, but Hunham was fired from his job.

Sexual references

The Holdovers has some sexual references. For example:

One of the boys asks another, ‘What are you doing with women’s underwear?’
There are comments about ‘jerking off’ in the cobb salad.
Hunham tells Angus that Miss Crane, the deputy head, deserves his respect not his erotic speculation.
Angus meets a girl at a party. She asks him if he’s looking down her shirt. He says no and then yes. She kisses him.
There are comments about sex being 99% friction.
Hunham says the fire in his loins burned white-hot when he was young.
Hunham takes Angus to a museum that has a display of ancient Greek erotica.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

The Holdovers shows some use of substances. For example:

Hunham drinks frequently – at home, during the day, in bed and while driving a car.
Angus drinks communion wine.
The boys smoke marijuana and share a joint.
People drink alcohol in various places including at home, in a pub and at parties. Mary gets drunk one night and has an emotional breakdown.
Several people smoke cigarettes and Hunham smokes a pipe.
Angus and Hunham both take the antidepressant Librium.

Nudity and sexual activity

The Holdovers has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, one of the boys is reading a ‘girlie magazine’ during class. The scene shows a topless woman in the magazine.

Product placement

The Holdovers following products are displayed or used in this movie: Coca-Cola and Jim Beam.

Coarse language

The Holdovers has frequent coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

The Holdovers is a Christmas comedy drama with a difference. It shows that not everyone’s Christmas is merry and bright, particularly those who are bereaved. The movie upholds values like truth and integrity, and, as such, is very uplifting.

Because of its adult themes, The Holdovers isn’t suitable for children aged under 14 years. It’s more appropriate for older teenagers and adults.

These are the main messages from The Holdovers:

Don’t judge people on face value, particularly if you don’t know anything about their background.
Adversity builds character.

Values in The Holdovers that you could reinforce with your children include integrity, truth, kindness, inclusivity, understanding, empathy, loyalty and selflessness.

The Holdovers could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the following:

For some people, Christmas is a lonely and sad time of the year. It’s good to remember people who are having a difficult time at Christmas.
Justice doesn’t always happen, and life is often unfair. But you can still choose how to react to situations that you can’t control.