Common Sense Media Age: 15+ Language 4/5 Drinking/Drugs/Smoking 4/5
Sex 4/5
My Age Recommendation: 15+ (Due to strong language throughout, brief drug usage, brief nudity, and brief sexual dialogue)
The Oscar nominations are out, and AMC has put most of the movies back (some even for 5 dollars a ticket) for people to see. I really only wanted to watch The Zone of Interest (which is one of those films that only play at special theaters) and The Holdovers, so I went for The Holdovers instead since I love Paul Giamatti, and I am glad I went for this one. The story follows a private boarding school when they let out for Christmas break, and everyone wants to leave and see their families. Unfortunately, there are "holdovers" every year whose parents cannot pick them up in which they stay at the school, and this year there ends up being one student, Angus. The worst teacher in the school, Paul, is left with holdover duty this year, and the two get in all sorts of trouble over the next few weeks. I really enjoyed this movie, and there were a lot of new concepts that I liked the most. The main thing is that the entire movie was meant to look like a 70s film, from the introduction MPAA title card to the added film grain throughout the film, I was really immersed in the setting of the story. The cinematography was great, with most of the film taking place with snow and there were many scenes that utilized the beautiful school in the shots that I appreciated. The story itself was heartwarming and great, and the pacing was good too. The dialogue was fresh and had no cliches (which I wasn't expecting), and the character dynamics were some of the best I've ever seen. I loved the character development throughout the movie and it really made the emotional moments much more impactful. Overall, this is one of the best movies on the Oscar list that everyone should try and see!
