The Holdovers

THE HOLDOVERS

2023 | Dir. Alexander Payne | 133 Minutes

"I find the world a bitter and complicated place, and it seems to feel the same way about me. I think you and I have this in common."

At a boarding school in New England, classics instructor and staunch loner Paul Hunham is charged with supervising the children unable to join their families during the winter holiday break. An unexpected change in plans leaves Mr. Hunham alone with Angus Tully, a clever and defiant teen determined to rebel against the irritable teacher. Through various shared mishaps and experiences, with encouragement from affable cafeteria manager Mary, Mr. Hunham and Angus form an unlikely bond.

Nearly two decades after their lauded collaboration on Sideways, Alexander Payne reteams with Paul Giamatti to deliver The Holdovers, a touching dramatic comedy that perfectly captures the mood and aesthetic of a 1970s coming-of-age picture. Written by David Hemingson, the screenplay is razor-sharp with excellent dialogue, nuanced characters, and themes of social alienation along with a sizable dose of Vietnam War angst, period-appropriate as a throwback to films of the era. At its heart, The Holdovers tells a moving story about a pair of resentful misfits forced to spend the holidays together and they both gradually learn to be more empathetic people. The more viewers learn about Mr. Hunham and Angus, the more invested they become in their respective personal journeys.

Though shot digitally, the post-production work on The Holdovers convincingly makes the picture resemble a film from the 1970s. Perfectly complementing the visual aesthetic are the inspired audio choices. The feature's mono sound mix immediately evokes a feeling of coziness and soundtrack includes memorable needle-drops such as Damien Jurado's "Silver Joy" playing halfway through opening title sequence, and Labi Siffre's "Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying" prominently featured in a montage of Angus wandering the campus alone in the middle of the night and at the very end of the picture.

Playing mean old Mr. Hunham in a complete showcase of his full range as a seasoned character actor, Giamatti gives one of the best performances of his career - hilarious, tragic, and incredibly moving. Perhaps the cast's most impressive asset is breakout star Dominic Sessa as Angus, a soulful and charismatic young performer who more than matches both Giamatti's frantic energy and his pathos. In the prominent supporting role of Mary, a naturally amiable but amusingly straight-forward woman in the midst of grieving the loss of her son, Da'Vine Joy Randolph is truly excellent, bringing incredible warmth and subtlety to make the character completely her own.

Exploring loneliness, grief, and unlikely human connections, The Holdovers is a heartwarming picture that's authentic in setting, tone, and emotion. Featuring well-rounded, flawed, but immediately lovable characters, a snappy screenplay, and a superb story that promotes empathy but still carrying a humorous bit of an edge, it is a real gem of a film. There is a timeless quality to feature, and it may just become an offbeat holiday classic for many cinephiles.

FRAGMENTS

- Unquestionably my favorite film released in 2023, immediately one of my favorite films of all time

- The vintage Universal Studios logo, and the retro style Focus Features and Miramax logos opening the film are a nice touch

- I've been a big fan of Paul Giamatti's since American Splendor though I fully acknowledge that he sometimes ends up in some pretty bad roles (such as the rather embarrassing take on the Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2) though the triumph of his role in this film more than makes up for those questionable parts

- The illusion of the 1970s setting was nearly perfect for me until the shot of the China Trade Gate at the entrance of Boston's Chinatown showing the Hot Pot Buffet restaurant which opened in 2010

- During the scene in which Angus explains his father's condition, a woman sitting one or two rows behind me at my screening started to weep which immediately made my eyes tear up

Barbie

BARBIE

2023 | Dir. Greta Gerwig | 114 Minutes

"Being a human can be pretty uncomfortable. Humans make things up like patriarchy and Barbie just to deal with how uncomfortable it is."

When Barbie suddenly experiences an existential crisis, she must leave Barbie Land and enter the real world to find the root cause of her troubling thoughts. Tagging along, Ken discovers patriarchy and returns to Barbie Land to reshape it into a world ruled by Kens. Barbie and her human allies must work together to save the other Barbies and restore Barbie Land while Barbie works out her issues.

Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie is a phenomenal film that thoroughly deconstructs Mattel's flagship fashion dolls. The narrative capitalizes on the original intent of the product as totems of girlhood aspirations, but also, on a deeper level, it recontextualizes the toys as symbols of the immortal ever-evolving nature of ideas. The inadvertent introduction of patriarchal notions into Barbie Land, an unexpected byproduct of Barbie's odyssey into the real world, serves to escalate the conflict brought on by Ken's unrequited feelings for Barbie and humorously places fragile masculinity under a microscope. However, not every idea featured in the picture works. A notable misstep is the corporate subplot featuring the all-male group of Mattel executives that doesn't quite add up to very much either comedically or thematically. All in all, for what could have been a shallow feature-length toy advertisement, Barbie contains a multitude of ideas and makes a stirring statement for female empowerment.

On a technical level, Barbie is truly marvelous. The fully-realized Barbie Land sets are a sight to behold, as are the meticulously-designed costumes for the various characters that authentically replicate actual Mattel dolls and playsets. Hilariously, Gerwig takes the opportunity to deliberately call attention to infamous poorly-received and discontinued products. The various song and dance numbers are very funny and executed with gleeful panache featuring incredibly clever songwriting and brilliant choreography. 

Margot Robbie is perfectly cast in the lead role as Stereotypical Barbie (despite what narrator Helen Mirren says in an audience-rousing one-off gag), giving an exceptionally engaging performance as the doll takes on both an emotional and metaphysical journey. Playing the dimwitted Ken to Robbie's Barbie in his funniest performance to date, Ryan Gosling makes for a superb absurd antagonist fully embodying misguided heartbreak and machismo. As frustrated everywoman Mattel employee Gloria, America Ferrera is particularly excellent, earnestly delivering one of the most entertaining but also one of the most upsettingly accurate monologues ever about being a woman. Standing out from the massive supporting cast are Ariana Greenblatt as Gloria's disaffected teenage daughter Sasha, Kate McKinnon as the wise and bizarre overplayed and worn-out Weird Barbie, Simu Liu as the charismatic rival Ken to Gosling's, Michael Cera as the awkward singular Ken friend Allan, and comedy legend Rhea Perlman as the ghost of Barbie's literal maker Ruth Handler.

Greta Gerwig's Barbie is a metatextual comedy masterpiece that both challenges and celebrates the monolithic toy line. Hilarious, touching, and delightfully weird, this film is a soul-nourishing tonal smorgasbord. Featuring a completely committed star-studded cast and spectacular production design, it's a fun and colorful nearly-perfect ride through and through that's more enlightening than preachy despite being the sort of movie that wears its progressive messages on its hot pink sleeve.

FRAGMENTS

- Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the July 21, 2023 in the United States, creating the cultural phenomenon dubbed the "Barbenheimer" in which moviegoers opted to watch both pictures as a tonally-contrasting double feature, significantly benefitting both films financially

- Issa Rae also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee American Fiction

- The Ken actors shared a group text, though Michael Cera, the one Allen, was not included naturally

- Ryan Gosling is a fan of Doctor Who and was elated when he learned co-star Ncuti Gatwa was cast as the Doctor while shooting Barbie

- Shooting on the neighboring soundstages, the cast and crew of Fast X would often visit and hang out on the Barbie Land set

- The use of Matchbox Twenty's "Push" as the song that the Kens would sing "at you" is straight-up ingenious

SUPPLEMENTAL STUFF

- Video: Dua Lipa "Dance The Night"

- Video: Billie Eilish "What Was I Made For?"

- Video: Ryan Gosling "I'm Just Ken"

- Video: Ryan Gosling & Mark Ronson "I'm Just Ken (Merry Kristmas Barbie)"

MCU CONNECTIONS

- Ariana Greenblatt (Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War)

- Simu Liu (Xu Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings)

Anatomie d'une chute (Anatomy of a Fall)

ANATOMIE D'UNE CHUTE (ANATOMY OF A FALL)

2023 | Dir. Justine Triet | 152 Minutes

"When we've looked everywhere and still don't understand how the thing happened, I think we have to ask why it happened."

A difficult court trial unfolds after a man plummets to his death under questionable circumstances in southeastern France. Suspected of murdering her husband, a German novelist struggles to plead her case to the French court as well as her grieving son.

Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall is an intense courtroom drama that engages its audience by meticulously providing the facts behind the death of an unhappy husband while gradually building an emotionally challenging narrative surrounding the deterioration of a marriage. As the trial continues, it becomes clear that not only is the wife on trial but her relationship with the deceased is subject to judgment as well. The narrative conceit that the key witness for both the trial and the breakdown of a marriage is a visually-impaired child is nothing short of ingenious, as justice in this case is literally blind but with intimate knowledge of the dynamic within the troubled household. By design, Triet offers no definitive answer as to whether the husband died by murder or suicide, but instead appeals to the audience to look past the inconclusive facts and discover their own emotional truth.

Masterfully written, language plays a key part in Anatomy of a Fall, leaning heavily into the film's themes surrounding communication. The narrative draws attention to the German wife and French husband's decision to speak English as a compromise in their relationship, a compromise that has failed spectacularly as illustrated in the sequence playing back a secretly recorded contentious exchange turned violent between husband and wife. This failure to communicate is symbolic of their marriage and presents itself as a major conflict for her in the French-speaking courtroom. By its final act, the picture also heavily implies the husband's failure to communicate his festering depression, as their son is tasked to draw a heartbreaking conclusion based on a cryptic conversation they once shared.

In the complex lead role, Sandra Hüller is spectacular, absolutely sympathetic through and through despite lingering doubts regarding her character's innocence. Young actor Milo Machado Graner gives an emotionally resonant stand-out performance as the legally blind son Daniel, an incredibly tough role to play. Also standing out is the Border Collie Messi who played Daniel's guide dog Snoop, delivering perhaps one of the most affecting film performances ever from a canine actor.

Anatomy of a Fall is as much about the communication breakdown between two spouses as it is about the inherent difficulty in communication between a German murder suspect and the French justice system. Driven by a brilliant screenplay and powerful performances, the picture presents the ending of a relationship put on public display in unsettling invasive detail. It's a feature that demands audience engagement, refusing to provide easy conclusions.

FRAGMENTS

- Sandra Hüller also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee The Zone of Interest

- Antoine Reinartz who plays the prosecutor bears a striking resemblance to beloved American comedian Paul Scheer

- Anatomy of a Fall won the Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and Snoop actor Messi most deservedly won the Palm Dog Award

- It is patently ridiculous that France submitted La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Taste of Things) instead of this film as their entry for the 2024 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

American Fiction

AMERICAN FICTION
2023 | Dir. Cord Jefferson | 117 Minutes

"Whole soaring narratives about Black folks in dire circumstances who still manage to maintain their dignity before they die. I mean, I'm not saying these things aren't real, but we're also more than this."

Fed up with deeply flawed but profitable portrayals of African Americans and his own lack of recognition, opinionated English professor and struggling novelist Thelonious "Monk" Ellison writes a satirical "Black" novel under a pseudonym to amuse himself. Unexpectedly, Monk's new book is an immediate success despite his best efforts to sabotage its publication. However, as one crisis after another strikes Monk's family, he must choose between his personal sense of integrity and financial stability.

Adapted from Percival Everett's novel Erasure, Cord Jefferson's American Fiction is a razor-sharp comedy that amusingly deconstructs the rather tired and oftentimes ignorant tropes of marketable African American narratives. The picture criticizes representation in media that leans into stereotypes ranging from frustratingly worn-out to outright offensive through the perspective of a talented and outspoken main character. The most intriguing aspect of the story is that the protagonist carries his own unique personal struggles and deep-seated flaws that no broad generalization would be able to capture, and within the specific lies the genuinely relatable qualities of the character.

While American Fiction unfolds from Monk's point of view, the film decidedly does not portray him as an infallible paragon, but instead encourages the audience to question Monk's biases and to think critically for themselves. The writer's pretentiousness and petty judgmental attitude prove to be significant obstacles that he doesn't quite overcome by the time the credits roll. Monk's resentment ultimately costs him his love interest, his inherent bias towards another Black writer is directly challenged by the novelist herself in one excellent scene, he is the last in his family to discover the father he idolized was not a faithful husband, and he ultimately sells out for profit albeit reluctantly out of desperate financial need. While the story's various subplots either lack substantial closure or resolve in ways without completing conventional narrative arcs, the lack of neat and tidy resolution serves to add realism to the picture as a whole as well as reflect ongoing conversations around representation that will never be resolved completely.

In the role of Monk, Jeffrey Wright is brilliant as the frustrated intellectual making bad art on a lark, hilariously balancing charisma and snobbery. John Ortiz makes for an affable pragmatic voice of reason playing Monk's publisher Arthur. As love interest Coraline, Erika Alexander is affable and capably presents a reasonable counterpoint to Monk's resentment for general audiences. Sterling K. Brown delivers an incredibly funny scene-stealing performance as Monk's newly-divorced perpetually drug-addled brother Cliff. The supporting cast also features Tracee Ellis Ross as Monk's humorously sardonic sister Lisa and Issa Rae as the successful novelist Sintara Golden and subject of Monk's ire.

American Fiction dissects the value of flawed representation while cleverly weaving a funny, challenging, and heartbreaking yarn. Rather boldly, the film elects to not offer any measure of resolution. One could argue that its lack of closure imbues the film with invaluable authenticity.

FRAGMENTS
- Issa Rae also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Barbie

- Miriam Shor also appears in 2024 Best Picture Academy Award Nominee Maestro

- Always fun to see Keith David in a film however minor the role


007 CONNECTIONS
Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and No Time To Die)

MCU CONNECTIONS
- Sterling K. Brown (N'Jobu in Black Panther)

- Miriam Shor (Recorder Vim in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

- Leslie Uggams (Blind Al in Deadpool & Wolverine)

- Keith David (Documentary Narrator in Spider-Man: Brand New Day)

The 96th Academy Awards

My ranking of the Best Picture Oscar contenders of 2024:

1. The Holdovers
2. Poor Things
3. Oppenheimer *
4. Barbie
5. American Fiction
6. Past Lives
7. Anatomy of a Fall
8. The Zone of Interest
9. Killers of the Flower Moon
10. Maestro

* Actual Winner