Now here's a film with a life affirming theme, that should encourage most viewers to think of their dreams, and cascade away all their cloaks, inhibitions, and open fresh doors to their heart's intuitions; as a teacher whose life is as stale as dead fish, whose life is the opposite of happy and bliss, meets a boy who's ignored by all those he holds dear, and a friendship is formed that is warm and sincere; it's a subtle reflection of how we get trapped, by tradition and habits and past circumstance, where surroundings like prisons can temper our thinking, to distil all our spirit, to bottles for drinking; so embrace all the chances when they come along, break out of that mould and sing your own song, open your eyes to the paths unexplored, take a stand and stand tall, and stop being ignored.

Mid-way through "The Holdovers," I started openly weeping in the movie theater, and I pretty much kept it up on and off for the rest of the movie. Sometimes, there wasn't even anything obviously sad or moving happening in the scene, and I still couldn't stop. I think it's because this movie is so kind, and kindness is a rare commodity these days. It's sad to think that a movie about characters learning to have compassion for each other and for the hardships they've been through should feel like such a rare beast, but here we are.

This is Alexander Payne firing on all cylinders as a director, and though he didn't write this movie, it feels like he could have. It's an obvious throwback to the kinds of movies Hal Ashby made throughout the 1970s and is touching in exactly the same way "Harold and Maude" was. It's also a master class in acting from the three principal characters played by Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da 'Vine Joy Randolph, and I hope all three of them, and the movie overall, is remembered come Oscar time.

This will easily make my top ten list for the year.

Grade: A+