MOVIE NEWS – The main characters of the bittersweet comedy The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, were able to leave the Golden Globes with a golden statuette each. The award is given by Hollywood-accredited foreign correspondents at the beginning of each year, and is traditionally seen as the most likely to predate the Oscars – although there are some big surprises.

The action of The Holdovers takes place in an elite boarding high school during the Christmas holidays in the 1970s. Most of the students go home, the few students who stayed behind have to be looked after by the grumpy history teacher (Giamatti), who is only helped by the housekeeper (Randolph), as a special punishment. In the end, only one student is left by Christmas (starring Dominic Sessa in his first starring role), and the tight-knit trio of oddballs share what they have—losses, longings, swirling emotions pushed to the surface—to see what are the three of them going to do.

In addition to the exceptionally powerful performances, The Holdovers is another triumph of Alexander Payne, awarded with two Oscars. He received his first golden statuette for Detours, in which he also directed Giamatti – The Holdovers is further proof that they understand each other even with half words. Payne won his second Oscar for Descendants in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Almost everyone in Hollywood believes that the two Golden Globes won are really the harbingers of the Oscars for The Holdovers, because it is a contender in both the best film and best director categories for the most important film award. According to many, this is Alexander Payne’s best film to date, and the critic of Literary Hub probably sums it up most succinctly: “I haven’t seen a film in a long time that so perfectly mixes extreme emotions with pathos, sweet nostalgia with cruel cynicism, high cost with blushing impudence .”

Giamatti did not lie to himself. After receiving the Golden Globe, he didn’t go to a gala dinner – the world-famous menu was celebrated by a restaurant chain known for its Japanese-South American fusion cuisine – but instead, he enjoyed a hamburger menu among his colleagues in a fast food restaurant after carefully placing the trophy in front of him.

The Artist’s Dinner can be viewed here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C12fJLYIith /

(The Holdovers – domestic release: February 29, 2024.)

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