Alexander Payne brings audiences to a New England boarding school in 1970 in “ The Holdovers,” a textured, nostalgic and often funny piece about three lonely and mismatched souls stuck together over Christmas break. It’s a keeper and possibly even destined to become a classic.
The holiday movie genre is suspect — even the most well-intentioned entries can be too saccharine, too wistful, too “Lifetime.” But Payne, working with a sharp script written by David Hemingston, keeps “The Holdovers” grounded and real. Even absent your own memories of smoking indoors or handsewn outerwear, this is the kind of thoughtful, precisely constructed movie where you can almost taste the cigarette smoke and feel your fingers numbing through drafty wool mittens.
