

The Holdovers
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Audience Sentiment
Exploring Boston and bonding
Getting to know each other
The film builds steadily from a slow early bonding phase to its emotional and cinematic peak during the Boston sequences
The Holdovers starts strong with character establishment, experiences a brief lull during predictable bonding moments, then soars to remarkable heights during the Boston sequences. The film maintains consistent quality with powerful emotional beats, particularly around Mary's grief and Angus's father, creating a thoroughly satisfying Christmas film.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 46
Paul Giamatti
Paul Hunham

Dominic Sessa
Angus Tully

Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Mary Lamb

Carrie Preston
Miss Lydia Crane

Brady Hepner
Teddy Kountze

Ian Dolley
Alex Ollerman

Jim Kaplan
Ye-Joon Park

Michael Provost
Jason Smith

Andrew Garman
Dr. Hardy Woodrup

Naheem Garcia
Danny

Stephen Thorne
Thomas Tully

Gillian Vigman
Judy Clotfelter

Tate Donovan
Stanley Clotfelter

Darby Lee-Stack
Elise

Bill Mootos
Mr. Endicott

Dustin Tucker
Mr. Rosensweig

Juanita Pearl
Mary's Sister Peggy
Alexander Cook
Priest / Bartender

Liz Bishop
Office Lady

Cole Tristan Murphy
Toothbrushing Student
Crew
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