When the director Alexander Payne appeared on stage following a screening of "The Holdovers" that I attended at the Toronto International Film Festival he received a standing ovation. That was not surprising because it's a heartwarming crowdpleasing film and one of Payne's best. It reunites Payne with Paul Giamatti who starred in the director's 2005 film "Sideways." Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph are superb and Dominic Sessa in his film debut is a brilliant find. Set during the holiday season in 1970 at a New England boarding school with a side trip to Boston "The Holdovers" shows how human connections that may seem unlikely can be transformative.
Review of The Holdovers
