Paul Giamatti reteams with his Sideways director as a curmudgeonly boarding school teacher.

Reteaming after their shared success onSideways,Giamatti and Payne bring out the best in each other.

In his hands, Hunham is as deep as the snowfall outside the Barton campus windows.

HO_03095 (l-r.) Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully, Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb and Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne’s THE HOLDOVERS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Paul Giamatti in ‘The Holdovers’.Seacia Pavao/2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Sessa’s heartbreak and vulnerability are so raw they can be painful to watch.

Even if only for a little while.

It is through this bittersweet relationship with the season that these characters connect.

HOLDOVERS_FP_00406_R Dominic Sessa stars as Angus Tully and Paul Giamatti as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne’s THE HOLDOVERS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of FOCUS FEATURES / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Dominic Sessa and Paul Giamatti in ‘The Holdovers’.Courtesy FOCUS FEATURES

Life is messy, andThe Holdoversnever loses sight of that truth.

But the film never becomes self-indulgent either.

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HO_00837_R (l-r.) Director Alexander Payne and actors Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph on the set of their film THE HOLDOVERS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Seacia Pavao / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Director Alexander Payne, Paul Giamatti, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph on the set of ‘The Holdovers’.Seacia Pavao/FOCUS FEATURES LLC