The Holdovers (Re-scheduled)

A spirited comedy drama from Payne, reuniting with his Sideways star and set on a New England school campus in the 1970s. Curmudgeonly teacher Paul (Giamatti) has the unenviable task of looking after students unable to return home for Christmas. The teacher, plus rebellious pupil Angus (Sessa) and the school cook Mary (Randolph) make an unlikely trio. A deeply pleasurable film, both funny and rueful, drawing on the pain and humour of thwarted lives. With award-winning performances, this is a delightful new work, both warm and melancholic.

97 % – Rotten Tomatoes

7.9 / 10 – IMDB

“A Christmas movie, complete with an atmospheric dusting of snow and a selection of fussy a cappella school-choir carols, it’s about finding family where you least expect it. But don’t approach The Holdovers expecting a cosy comfort blanket of a film”

“characters inhabit richly drawn worlds in which seemingly minor details come together in a reproachful chorus, a reminder that life could, and should, have been better.”