“The Holdovers”

9.1

A new favorite Christmas film for the yearly rotation!

This film envelopes you in a warmth that is palpable from beginning to end. I wanted to go see it a second time just to enjoy the ambiance for 2 more hours. Every single frame is steeped in unshakable charm. Each character is perfectly crafted to build and play off of each other, and get to the heart of matters of life and love that many others only dare to tiptoe around during their time on the screen. It’s a film of complicated people living for the unforeseen beauty in the complication of life. Similar to “Silver Linings Playbook” or “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” this film deserves every bit of critical praise and award season success it gets. From the cast, to the cinematography, to the soundtrack, this film fires on every cylinder and never lets up. I cannot recommend this one enough, and only wish it was more than a limited theatrical release that will hopefully gain traction and a possible re-release due to it’s success in home video release. As soon as I left the theater, I knew at least one of my top films of the year with this one.