May December Holdovers

[00:00:00] What you want, when you want it, where you want it, this is the mesh.

[00:00:11] Footcandal Films Film news and reviews from two guys who really like movies.

[00:00:18] This episode is brought to you by the Footcandal Film Society.

[00:00:22] For a schedule of upcoming screenings and really is one of the happiest times of the year for me.

[00:01:40] I don't know about you for you, Chris, but just every day it's running out to the mailbox.

[00:01:45] It's running out to the mailbox or it's checking the inbox on my email to see if there's any The Oldovers by director, Alexander Payne. And then we'll also be discussing the film May December by director, Todd Haynes. Those two films, Paul Giamatti, The Star of the Holdovers. And then we've got the combo of Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman in the film May December. So we'll be talking about both of those films

[00:03:00] in a full review here as we get started.

[00:03:03] So Chris, which one do we want to start with?

[00:03:05] We want to start with the holdovers?

[00:03:07] Yeah, let's, and Nebraska. His latest, the holdovers, stars Paul Giamatti, as Paul Hunnam, a c'mulgently instructor or c'mulge instructor at New England Prep School, the sports domain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go.

[00:04:22] What'd you make of Payne's latest effort, Alan?

[00:04:25] And did you feel it deviated from his trademark style season, I hope that the warmth of the season continues in this conversation. Either you're going to echo my feelings and agree that this is one of the best films of the year and it was just absolute delight and joy to watch and experience. Or you're going to not feel that way and you and I are just going to really end on some very disagreeable terms here. So I'm hoping

[00:05:46] when I turn the mic back over to you, that that's where you're going to be a much more of a more ensemble piece with a larger group of students that we're all gonna be holdovers but as you get into the movie, and this is not a spoiler, it really does boil down to three characters that we spend the time with the majority of the film. And I'm happy it went that direction because I feel like we just had more to work with

[00:07:00] with these characters and more character development

[00:07:04] we could really spend on each of those three

[00:07:05] instead of a larger group, it was a wonderful film, Chris. Chris,

[00:08:22] I've already seen this twice. I saw it twice, actually in the

[00:08:25] same 24 hour period, I the 1970s. So you know, I could see people letting the criticism that this is nothing more than kind of a, you know, toned down dead poet society without somebody doing like a bunch of comedy like Robin Williams still has funny elements, but it's all about, you know, people coming

[00:09:41] of age.

[00:09:42] Yeah.

[00:09:43] That said, I could see that criticism and really bothered me, but I know that that's a criticism that can be levied against him is that his things tend to be all cold and stinging criticism and not be very warm. And I like you found this to be a refreshing change. I mean, there still is was a little, what sort I'm looking for. Well, I could see how you could say it was a little jarring at first because it's almost taking like a, it's making too much of a joke of it. And you're like, oh, okay. It was a little like on the nose, like, hey, look, we're in the 1970s. So we're gonna, it's been done before,

[00:12:22] it's been done in other productions.

[00:12:23] And I felt like at first it was a little,

[00:12:26] a little on the, a little more natural feeling. Yeah, just everything about this film just worked. It just worked. I mean, the humor was not over the top. It was not, you know, I can't think of a single bust out loud scene or moment. A couple of lines of dialogue had me pretty, pretty good.

[00:13:43] It's light humor when it needs humor, but I like that and I think it was important for him I like the fact that he wasn't a man so that way he wasn't bringing any baggage of oh, yeah This is a typical type character. He plays just a very unusual He's got a very striking face and everything and him to be up against Paul Giamatti. He's very

[00:16:21] Very Paul Giamatti. He's a way for all the other kids to go with him on a ski vacation. And that, and it's like, you know, hey, my dad came to get me. All of us can go. And so to, but to me, it was, he wasn't doing that to make himself seem cool.

[00:17:42] He was, I think he was generally being trying to be nice.

[00:17:45] So I thought that like you kind of like

[00:19:05] okay yeah I get it. I mean I don't feels like it's trying to make a political statement out of the film. Just right. It was

[00:20:22] more of the sentiments of the time, I think they don't, they do all this stuff out there, but they don't rub your nose in it. So I, I appreciate that. I thought it was good. Yeah, I, yeah, man, this film just, it just worked. It just worked. I am highly recommending it to people. I think it is one that a broad swath of people can enjoy. I mean, I think it's a,

[00:22:42] which I was doing when I was writing this setup. I kind of came to the same conclusion that,

[00:22:44] yeah, this is my favorite of pains.

[00:22:47] I think just overall the performances,

[00:22:50] I think, you know, he lets you know early on,

[00:22:53] yes, I'm trying to make a 70s style, you know,

[00:22:55] trying to do that look.

[00:22:56] That was in the trailer.

[00:22:57] So you've got a little sense of that

[00:22:58] just the way they had like the narration

[00:23:00] and the text on the screen.

[00:23:01] But yeah, he follows through that

[00:23:03] and it doesn't distract, to Oh, yeah, because there is a dramatic pulse halfway through the insults. So yes a crowd Laughing yes, you would have missed the second half, but it's it's really good and then in the same scene Something to do with Paul Jimone's eyes in a comment made to the the young man his student just again

[00:25:24] funny and sold, but I'll be so I can kind of have the same experience because I liked it the first time that sounds like

[00:25:26] that's only going to grow when I watch it again. I'll say,

[00:25:29] yeah, I'll say since you called out some good scenes with two

[00:25:33] of the three people that we like lauded praise again, I want to

[00:25:36] say a scene that really, really worked for me with Devan Joy

[00:25:40] Randolph, her character Mary is, and this is actually really

[00:25:45] impressive too, because there's no dialogue. Yeah, it's her in

[00:26:43] Buzz discussion for her and I would be all in favor in that. I think she absolutely warrants us with this performance.

[00:26:46] So.

[00:26:47] Okay.

[00:26:48] Well, that is the holdover.

[00:26:49] Sounds like, uh, very positive.

[00:26:51] I might be more positive on it, but I think both positive, no matter what, right?

[00:26:55] So.

[00:26:57] I mean, I don't know what I have to see what we end up writing in, um, letter

[00:27:01] box, but I will say it is one of my favorites for the year.

[00:27:05] And I, it's one of those rare instances too, where.

[00:28:03] was released by, who was it released by? Is it released by?

[00:28:07] It's not Amazon, is it? Or, I think it was Paramount.

[00:28:08] Was it Paramount? Okay.

[00:28:11] Because I feel like one of those logos was one of the right. Right. Right.

[00:28:13] So it, uh, don't know when it'll be available online streaming, but I do

[00:28:16] recommend if it's in a theater near you, we're recommending you should go check

[00:28:21] it out and see it. I think it's a great film, especially here at the Christmas

[00:28:24] time. I think it really works for that.

[00:29:22] Directing is the film May December.

[00:29:26] Kimmy, yeah.

[00:29:31] How do you choose your roles?

[00:29:37] I wanna find a character

[00:29:41] that's difficult to understand. Why are they like this?

[00:29:42] Were they born or were they made?

[00:29:46] Like we're taller, you look taller on television, documentary of the experimental band featuring live performance footage that had never been seen before. With Maita Simber, Haines does return to narrative storytelling. In the film,'t really say, you know, how to, I've never seen Far From Heaven. I don't know. I do know Carol. Carol, I think, is a great film that is one of his. I saw that I do think it's really great, but

[00:32:22] I can't speak to it in a bigger sense They obviously were in all the news and medium tabloids about that back then. So that was in the past. We never get any flashbacks. They're not interested in that. They're interested in talking about what does this couple look like now? Because it actually did bring up an interesting question.

[00:33:42] We hear about some of these stories in the. But what what happened here, what Todd Haynes is obviously interested in doing is yes, exploring an interesting story. But there was definitely more that they wanted to accomplish with this film is.

[00:36:02] I was enjoying the film all the way through. I think the last scene kind of just really, really made me appreciate this film more.

[00:36:08] So again, I can't go into more without spoiling it, but I do think I think the, I think everybody

[00:36:14] is acting at a great, at a great level here.

[00:36:17] I think the performances are really good.

[00:36:18] I think the premise is what carried the film for me, just the concept, the conceit of what

[00:36:23] the film is trying to explore, but it does have uh I could totally see how it also doesn't work for a lot of people so well the thing is the film to me was surprisingly bland um and I'm not the film more credit than Desserts, but I don't think so. I think Todd Haynes is talented. He does try different things and different films. And with this film in the opening scene, well, one of the opening things they're doing is Julianne Moore's in a kitchen. And she's talking with somebody and that one person leaves.

[00:39:00] And then you hear some dramatic music

[00:39:03] and a zoom, a zooming in frame,

[00:39:05] like an Alfred Hitchcock type like sudden zoom in surprised me. Norie and Natalie Portman, she didn't, I think her performance was fine, but nothing about her characters are surprised me. Nothing about Joe, Charles Nelson's kid. That didn't surprise me. And nothing about Natalie. Or Julia Moore's character surprised me. So much so that this whole thing is, I guess over maybe a week's worth of time, she kind

[00:40:24] of comes as they're starting to celebrate their two children are graduating from high I'm not going to the mat for this film. I do think it's, I don't think it's for everybody and I don't think everybody's gonna walk away feeling enlightened or feeling like it was an enjoyable experience. I personally just found myself fascinated with the premise. I found myself fascinated with the dynamics of this three person relationship.

[00:41:43] No, I mean, no, it wasn't surprising in any way,

[00:41:46] but I thought I found myself more invested a little bit of a let's overdramatize these things. And let's let's let's you find yourself, you think you're in this extremely dramatic environment situation because here it is this woman who is married to this kid that you know is 20 some years younger than her and who she met when he was 13 and all the all the scandal

[00:43:02] that was involved in that and like we're with them now obviously there must be some dramatic

[00:43:06] stuff happening and well there's not going to work for everybody and it's not a great film. It is a, for me, it's a good film with some really good performances and a very, very

[00:44:20] interesting setup and going to be. They kind of used it, but then they let it go and they didn't heart or didn't, you know, hang on that image too much at the close of the family, which I thought they were going to do and that was going to really be an eye rolling moment for me. So that was a little bit of kind of a little bit of an eye roll, but it could have been much more

[00:45:40] that kind of knocked it down a little bit. this candle So I guess but I thought that I

[00:47:01] Don't know I was like, okay, that that definitely is a memorable scene for me, but yeah

[00:48:05] It's big, but also like that's interesting thing is that Joe now is the age

[00:48:12] That Julianne Moore's character was when my yes, so it's like can you imagine him now being with a 13 year old? Right. Yeah, so I mean I thought they did a really interesting job of hearing the perspectives of other people

[00:48:19] In this relationship outside of the the primary two. So we got to spend a little bit of time with

[00:49:25] the layout of the film, I thought was really interesting and interesting and fun to watch. I want to kind of double down on your thoughts on Corinne Michael Smith playing Georgie.

[00:49:30] I'm not granted, I guess this is not the kind of film that Hange was interested in making.

[00:49:37] So I understand that.

[00:49:38] But I wanted more Georgie because, and I guess I read a lot into his character because on

[00:49:44] Gotham, maybe mention that TV series that he what Haines was interested in because if anything, he's mocking that type of film where you have more of like a thriller nature. And that's kind of what I thought this was going to be instead of a just flat drama with some comedic stuff in it, which I didn't expect comedic stuff at all. The mere fact that I guess it had been teased to me

[00:51:03] maybe in professional material more is like a thriller. with it Understandably and again, I'm not I'm not this is not the holdovers. I'm not gonna fight somebody on How good this film have a release date online yet So check it out in theaters if you can otherwise you'll have to wait just a little while to see it online So all right and I encourage people if it sticks around in theaters long enough

[00:53:41] I know we've made it through Thanksgiving if it sticks around in theaters long enough as we get closer to

[00:53:45] Christmas holiday in New Year's if you're looking for a film

[00:54:43] holiday season. May December, I don't feel like is the family friendly film that people need to run out and see over the

[00:54:46] holiday season. But I still say it's worth a watch. So check

[00:54:50] it out. Okay, Chris, well, that's gonna wrap it up. As I said,

[00:54:53] we had two big reviews. So we're not gonna do anything else

[00:54:55] today. When we get together next time. I mean, again, we're in

[00:54:58] the happy part of the season right now. So we should have some

[00:55:00] other good films to be discussing and reviewing here in the

[00:55:03] next couple of weeks. But if anybody wants to talk to us