No. 76 - The Holdovers
I go over an Oscar frontrunner AND talk about those Oscar nominations! What a week!
The Holdovers
Months after its release, I finally got around to The Holdovers (2023); a sleepy little film set during Christmastime that was describe to me as being heartwarming and old fashioned. Fortunately it is not heartwarming the schmaltzy, overly-sentimental, and hokey way that Oscar winners Scent of a Woman (1992) and The Green Book (2018) are and it is not old fashioned in a derogatory way. The Holdovers tells a somewhat formulaic story with genuine heart that invites compassion for its complicated and somewhat insufferable leads.
Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) is a history teacher at a prestigious boarding school and, after being rightfully stubborn about his beliefs, he is made to stay over winter break to supervise the boys who can’t go home to their families over break; otherwise known as “the holdovers.” The only other faculty joining Paul is the school’s cook Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who is currently in mourning after the death of her only son in the Vietnam War. As fate would have it, Paul and Mary end up having to look after only one student, the troubled yet brilliant Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa).
In broad strokes the film goes just as you’d expect, the three bond over the experience. The ornery old teacher grows a heart. The mourning mother begins to heal. The boy becomes less troubled and has a chance at a future. What actually makes The Holdovers so great though is the smaller moments these three share throughout the film that demonstrate these changes or, rather, explain their pain. A particular scene with Mary involving her son’s baby clothes is just so elegant and simple, but emotionally rich and complex.
Often, for Paul and Angus, these moments come in the forms of lies. Lies they tell themselves and each other end up revealing more about themselves than anything else they say. They hide what’s hurting them, they hide their disappointment, and they hide their loneliness throughout the film. Through lies they are able to express their fondness for each other and, many times, save each other from ruin.
Finding this sort of complex admiration for these flawed characters, especially Paul who is probably one of the most comically insufferable characters ever, is an incredible feat. I swear, Paul does not shut up about ancient civilizations even when his smug intellectual musings are clearly not wanted. Yet, somehow, I felt for the bastard. Felt for Angus too despite how temperamental and self-destructive he was. Early on in the film Paul is advised my Mary to not make judgements on people because he doesn’t know what they’re going through. Despite these three leads have vastly different lives, they find a commonality and, eventually, love between them.
The Holdovers is streaming now on Peacock.
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The Return of Oscar
The nominations for the 96th Academy Awards were announced and, much to my delight, they looked very much like my top ten films of last year (no, Evil Dead Rise didn’t get nominated for anything). While The Academy’s tastes serendipitously reflected much of my own this year, there were discrepancies, surprises, and snubs that are worth talking about. While I will be highlighting some categories, I want to keep my newsletter nice and tidy. I won’t be listing out all the nominees here, but you can find the full list of nominees here on the Academy’s website.
Overview
This year saw some social milestones. This is the first time three of the films nominated for best picture (Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, and Past Lives) were directed by women. Amongst the acting nominees, there three LGBTQ+ persons nominated: Coleman Domingo, Jodie Foster, and Lily Gladstone. Gladstone too broke barriers by being the first American indigenous person to be nominated for best actress. When the nominations came out, Gladstone travelled to an Osage reservation to “be as close to Mollie Kyle and her family as I could be…Once things wrap up, I think I’m gonna load up and drive out to Fairfax and Gray Horse and pay my respects there.”
American Fiction, The Holdovers, Anatomy of a Fall, and The Zone of Interest all earned five nominations this year. Curious about Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, both films star German actress Sandra Hüller, making her the only performer in two films nominated for Best Picture this year. Another curious element about Anatomy of a Fall was that it was not France’s submission for the category Best International Feature Film, which is why it was not nominated despite getting so many other nominations. What I’ve read is that director Justine Triet’s incendiary criticisms of President Emmanuel Macron during her acceptance speech for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival got her film snubbed for submission. Triet seems to be getting the last laugh as her film, which cleaned up at the Golden Globes, would have certainly broke France’s twenty year long losing streak in the International Feature Film Category. That spot now is almost assuredly going to The Zone of Interest which, in my opinion, is a very weird, alienating, and brutal film. I’m surprised it connected with Academy members, especially since they still felt the need to give a conventional biopic like Maestro seven nominations.
Amongst the four most nominated films are Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon getting eleven and ten nominations respectively. Both are incredible films and are absolutely worth of the attention they have been getting. Although, their publicity did not match that of the two biggest films from last year. Of course I mean Oppenheimer and Barbie which collectively earned 21 nominations across 13 categories. In a shocking twist of fate, Oppenheimer earned five more nominations than Barbie in several key categories that one could consider to be pretty major snubs.
Those Who Were Snubbed
Barbie, the cultural sensation of last year has clearly lost some steam. After its poor performance at the Golden Globes a few weeks ago, it has again showed it does not have the same resonance with awards bodies as its Barbenheimer counterpart. Most disappointingly, despite her behind the scenes craft being highly publicized, Greta Gerwig did not get a nomination for directing. Her commitment to the absolutely lovely production and zany energy on set is as much a part of the film’s critical and financial success as its producer and star, Margot Robbie, who was overlooked in the Best Lead Actress.
I do have a theory as to how this happened. If you look at nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards, you will see that the nominations for both lead acting categories is identical to the Academy Awards with one small detail. Instead of Sandra Hüller’s nomination for Anatomy of a Fall, Margot snagged the nomination. One stark difference between the SAG awards and the Academy Awards is that SAG did not nominate any foreign language films. The Academy is not viciously snubbing Barbie (remember, they did get eight nominations including Best Picture), but Margot was unfortunately swapped out to give space for international films. That being said, I do think that Greta Gerwig’s lack of nomination is a result of institutional sexism. Another female director, Celine Song, whose film Past Lives was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay, also went unnoticed in the director category. It would be nice if she was included in that conversation (I didn’t see a tweet from Hilary Clinton about Song’s snubs) instead of Barbie fans only championing the one movie they saw last year.
Perhaps the most exciting race this year is the Supporting Actor race, with great performances by all parties nominated. Still, I find myself wishing Charles Melton, who delivered an incredible performance in May December, was recognized. In fact, May December is only present as a screenplay nomination. One Twitter user suggested the subject matter may have spooked the awards body as it focused on the “self-serious artists thoughtlessly mining real trauma for the sake of shitty biopic art.”
Speaking on snubs, Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter wrote a great article talking about the context and privilege surrounding these snubs. You can read it here.
Those Who Surprised
Amongst the snubs is what seems like tradition now where The Academy ignores Wes Anderson’s latest film, despite their excellence in production, writing, and acting. It appears our favorite Francophile Texan has wormed his way into the nominations nonetheless. Anderson’s Roald Dahl short, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, earned a nomination in the Live Action Short category. Rightfully so as all of his short form Dahl adaptations he released last year are delightful theatrical treats.
This year also marks the first appearance of an old old friend of mine at The Academy Awards. I spent a large portion of my life growing up with this individual and I can’t be more happy that he was nominated, even if it was just for one category. Amongst the Best Visual Effects nominees, you will see that the latest Godzilla movie, Godzilla Minus One was recognized. Congratulations Godzilla, you’re one of my heroes.
And lastly, if you’re anything like me, you are delighted to say, chest out, brimming pride, that you saw Oscar nominated Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One in theaters. The latest adventure with super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) earned two nominations (Best Sound and Best Visual Effects) a first in the franchise’s history. If only there were a stunts category, it would really have a chance to win an Oscar. Then I could really be proud.
You can find the full list of nominees here:
Stray Observations
In the past, I have included guest columns in the time between the nominations and the awards ceremony where readers and friends of I Liked It! can express their opinions on who they think will win, who they wish was recognized, and even declare a nomination as unearned. If you have such interest, feel free to reach out to me personally or at my email nick.dauphin@gmail.com
After the massive buzz of an Oscar nomination, Lily Gladstone has reportedly signed on to star in a film adaptation of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. The book, which I very much liked, is being adapted for the screen by Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Adaptation (2002), I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)), produced by the one and only Martin Scorsese, and directed by Reed Morano. The Kaufman and Scorsese team-up is extraordinary and with Gladstone front and center I’m very excited to see how this comes out.
Ever since there was word of Daniel Craig retiring from the role of James Bond, people have been quick to name their fan cast for the next Bond. One name that frequently comes up is Dev Patel. He has the good looks, he’s British, and he’s a terrific actor. I suppose Patel got tired of waiting for that call and, with some help from Jordan Peele, directed his own action movie: Monkey Man. Not much beyond the trailer has been revealed, but it appears to follow Patel’s character in a tuxedo as he violently takes out corruption and greed in a dazzling neon cityscape. Hell yeah. It’s due to release in theaters on April 5th. You can watch the trailer here.
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