The Holdovers
critic Reviews
, 97% Certified Fresh Tomatometer Score- Beautifully bittersweet, The Holdovers marks a satisfying return to form for director Alexander Payne.
- , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMark KermodeKermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)
The format may be unsurprising but there is nothing unsurprising about just how good and enjoyable this is... this is the kind of bittersweet, character-dialogue driven piece they just don't do anymore.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreDavid SextonNew Statesman
It is the genius of Paul Giamatti to make us, over the course of this great movie, not just re-evaluate and learn to respect this mess of a man but actually... to love him.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreWendy IdeObserver (UK)
There’s a bracingly astringent bleakness under its surface layer of melancholy humour; a biting, sharp edge that counters the occasional lurch towards sentimentality.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreLinda MarricHeyUGuys
The Holdovers emerges as a testament to Payne's unique storytelling ability, offering a grownup drama for intelligent audiences, inviting a nuanced exploration of the complexities of human relationships against the backdrop of cruel classist rigidity.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreDonald ClarkeIrish Times
Some may still baulk at the conventional structure. But conventions emerge for a reason. An absolute treasure. Merry Christmas to you all.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreClarisse LoughreyIndependent (UK)
Giamatti gives a wonderful performance here. He roots his character’s frustrations not in cruelty but in misguided desperation -- an eagerness to mould these boys into men better than himself.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreWilliam StottorLoud and Clear Reviews
Featuring a winning trio of actors all giving scintillating performances, The Holdovers marks a stunning return to form for Alexander Payne.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreWilliam MullallyThe National (UAE)
In a time when things often seem so hopeless, when the same forces of inequality and military injustices plague our own world, perhaps it’s this film’s realistic salve that makes it resonate so strongly.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreCalum CooperIn Their Own League
Despite the anxiety and even sadness its story exudes, it’s a movie so in love with its characters, and so steadfast in its humanist convictions, that it reaches into your soul and melts even the most frozen of hearts.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreGautam SunderThe Hindu
The Sideways actor-director duo combine once again for a terrific, bittersweet rumination on life, love and grief.
Read full article