THE HOLDOVERS (2023) Cert 15
Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa. Directed by Alexander Payne. (2h 13m)

Director Alexander Payne's bittersweet comic drama is a brilliant return to form to match previous classics including Election, Sideways and Nebraska. It may not have won all the awards many had anticipated for it this year, but Da'Vine Joy Randolph was a deserving winner at both the BAFTAs and the Oscars as Best Supporting Actress. At a posh American boarding school, most of the kids get to go home for Christmas, but one in particular is obliged as a result of family circumstances to become a "holdover" for the holidays, overseen by an equally unloved teacher - played by the excellent Paul Giamatti - and the school cook who is grieving the loss of her own son in Vietnam. Despite their very many differences they come together by necessity to form a bizarre little virtual family unit of their own for a few days. Though small in scale, it's a beautifully nuanced story of love and loneliness, with a happy-but-sad feelgood ending that will bring a tear to even the most stoical of eyes.