The Holdovers is funny. AND it has loads of genuine humanity. Once the film’s situation is set up, you’re likely to guess how things might turn out. But getting there is, as they say, half the fun. Go see this movie!

Paul Hunham, the main character in The Holdovers, is a person I (and, presumably, you as well) would not like in real life. But because this unlikable schlub is played by the great Paul Giamatti, well, you figure from the outset that he might have some redeeming values.

He’s a teacher at a residential private boys school in New England in 1970. He is not popular with his students nor with the school’s leadership. As the boys get ready for Christmas break he saddles them with homework. And when break begins, he’s the one faculty member tapped to supervise the few who are not headed home for the holidays. They are the holdovers.

Soon several of the young men are whisked away in a wealthy parent’s helicopter, leaving Hunham with just one student, the angsty Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) along with the school’s cook Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

The forced interactions between Hunham and Tully lead to a series of episodes on and off campus, some with other school staff and townies. Mary Lamb is mourning the recent loss of her son in Vietnam. Her interplay with the two men becomes a bigger part of the story than is signaled early on.

Through their time in close quarters with one another, portions of their backstories are revealed, some with surprising details. Without tipping too much of the story line, there are risks taken by each of the three that bring about, um, interesting outcomes.

This performance ranks among Paul Giamatti’s best and he is an actor who has played numerous memorable roles. My wife and I enjoyed Randolph as a sassy police detective in Only Murders In The Building. And Sessa is a rookie in his first movie appearance!

The Holdovers is directed by Alexander Payne who also directed two of my favorite films, The Descendants and Nebraska. Sideways (also with Giamatti) and Election are also highlights of his resumé. The original screenplay is by David Hemingson. It is rated R for language.

(The film’s wintry setting has helped me get ready for some snowfall. And credit to all concerned for avoiding any anachronisms. It looks like 1970.)