Posted in: Focus Features, Movies | Tagged: alexander payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, the holdovers

The Holdovers: Da'Vine Joy Randolph On Fighting For Complex Characters

Da'Vine Joy Randolph said she "felt like I had to fight for fully realized characters with complexities" but was "overjoyed" with The Holdovers script.

The Holdovers has quietly gone on to become one of the best movies of 2023. The movie didn't make a huge box office splash when it was released in November, but there was a lot of competition, and it was hard for anyone to find footing. However, as more and more critics' associations vote for their end-of-year lists and critics drop their top ten lists, The Holdovers keeps popping up. The movie, which dropped on Peacock, really started to pick up momentum once more people got the chance to watch what was essentially a holiday movie over the holidays. All three people involved in this film are fantastic, from Paul Giamatti reminding everyone why he's one of the best to Dominic Sessa kicking in the door with his first big screen performance ever and just killing it. It's Da'Vine Joy Randolph that brings the most heart to the entire film as her character goes through one of the worst things a mom can go through: the first Christmas after her child has died. Randolph recently spoke to Variety and explained that she constantly had to fight for characters with complexities but was so overjoyed when the script for this film came to her.

"I've felt like I had to fight for fully realized characters with complexities or even start writing or producing myself," she says. "I was so overjoyed to read this character, someone who was really struggling, but also trying to persevere in spite of her situation. … He took misery, boredom, silence, and normal behavior and made them real but in an interesting way."

Director Alexander Payne had nothing but praise for Randolph, but it was specifically the quiet moments where he thought she shined. "There's a moment where she's unpacking her son's baby stuff at her sister's house and she brought a subtlety and profundity to it," Payne says. "And when she's in a drunk reverie at a party, the camera dollies in, and she expresses a myriad of emotions I can't fully name but which moved me." There are plenty of moments when all three of these characters will leave you laughing and then leave you crying on the floor, but Randolph captures a range of extremely impressive emotions. If there is any justice in this world, she will continue to get the support actress recognition, nominations, and wins as we head into the last legs of the awards season. We can also hope that Randolph won't have to constantly fight for a role where the person involved is a complex human being with many emotions.

The Holdovers: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).

The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, stars Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, introducing Dominic Sessa. It is written by David Hemingson, with Mark Johnson p.g.a, Bill Block, David Hemingson serving as producers, and Andrew Golov, Thom Zadra, and Chris Stinson serving as executive producers. The Holdovers was released in select NY & LA theaters on October 27th, in limited release on November 3rd, and in theaters nationwide on November 10th.

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