The polite first draft of a heartfelt tribute.
The Holdovers clearly intends to reference films like The Graduate (1967). While it certainly gets as close as nailing the film grain and lighting, it falls short of capturing that film’s far more substantial and worthwhile trappings such as the inventive camerawork, stark editing, and above all the snappy pacing which keeps that story moving at a clip:
Sadly, The Holdovers takes unnecessarily long to say disappointingly little.
David Hemingson‘s screenplay and Alexander Payne‘s direction both seem to be making room for eachother, but neither is boisterous or spunky enough to lead the way, leaving the film’s lovely central performances (Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and newcomer Dominic Sessa) unmoored without a tight framework or character beats which feel earned. Considering how committed to being unlikeable we’re told Paul Hunham (Giamatti) is, he responds to disappointments and career-threatening challenges gracefully and readily compassionately – so what exactly is his arc?
Ultimately, The Holdovers traffics in the trappings of its nostalgia, but its storytelling is sadly undernourished.
Further Viewing
Frame Voyager offers a quick overview of The Holdovers‘ film emulation process:
Lessons we can take from what makes The Graduate so effective and memorable: