As the students of New England prep school Barton Academy excitedly depart for the winter holidays, a ragtag bunch with nowhere to go are forced to stay behind.

Making things worse, their appointed ‘babysitter’ is the cantankerous Professor Hunham (Paul Giamatti). But as the days pass, the grumpy professor forms an unexpected bond with smart-but-troubled student Angus (Dominic Sessa), and Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), the school’s cook, who is grieving the loss of her son.  

Alexander Payne reunites with his Sideways star Paul Giamatti in a film that strikes the perfect balance between pathos and playfulness. The Holdovers is just the kind of warm-hearted and thoughtful work we have come to expect from one of contemporary cinema’s great humanist filmmakers.

Content warning: contains flashing images