Heath Hutcheson, Campus Carrier sports editor

If you ask me, my personal favorite movie of 2023 has to be Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” The competition was certainly fierce, with Christopher Nolan’s bombastic epic, “Oppenheimer,” or the zany, fun and fascinating “Barbie” movie, but I think this smaller scale, character focused story struck a more personal chord with me that the others didn’t quite match. 

The premise is pretty simple. At a New England all-male boarding school, Paul Hunham, a curmudgeonly old teacher finds himself stuck in the position of watching after all the holdover students over the course of winter break. Neither he nor the students want to be there, but the longer they stay, their understanding of each other begins to change. One particular student, Angus Tully is left alone with Paul and the school’s cook Mary Lamb, who might be the most interesting character. Mary’s son who used to attend the boarding school, just passed away in combat, and her portrayal of a grieving mother comes across very genuine. 

Each of the three main characters come from vastly different backgrounds in life, and it’s fascinating to see how each of their personalities mesh over the holiday break. The screenplay upon which the film is built is extremely well-written. Hunham holds a grudge against Tully since he’s proven to be a troublemaker in the past, but upon discovering that they both secretly take antidepressants, he begins to see him in a different light.

The two constantly get into arguments, almost like a father and son. Hunham attempts to find things for the two of them to do, but Tully constantly tries to get away leading to many fights. I won’t say exactly how the film ends, but I will say that there is a particular handshake in this movie that feels more heartfelt than many hugs in most other movies.

The atmosphere is also on point. The film has a slight grainy quality to it that makes it appear like it comes straight from the seventies. The set design, costumes and even the music are all meticulously put together to immerse the audience into this time period which really adds to the feeling of isolation at the Barton boarding school. 

Many of the events in this film may come across as clichéd and over done to some viewers, but the execution of those tropes was so unique and well thought out in my opinion. Everything comes together into a very feel good experience which I found effective.

There’s not really much else that I think I can say without spoiling some major plot points in the later half of the film, but I suppose if I had to sum up the vibe, it would go really well with some soup next to the fireplace.