Concluding my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2023
#1. The Holdovers

This year’s top ten was one of the hardest I’ve had to compile. Not only did I have a dozen or so films vying for the final list, but I had a hell of a time figuring out what should go where. I considered at least five different titles for the top spot, never feeling quite right about any of them.

Then I rewatched Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers and realized I had my answer. I loved it already, but the second time through it was funnier, sadder, warmer, and wiser. I realized that not only is it my favorite movie of last year, but it’s a movie I’ll be seeking out repeatedly for years to come.

The Holdovers finds Barton Acacdemy professor Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) babysitting a group of students whose parents opted to leave them at the New England boarding school over Christmas break. He is joined by Mary Lamb, the school’s cafeteria manager and a grieving mother whose son was recently killed in Vietnam (played by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, soon to be an Oscar winner for this role).

One student, misunderstood troublemaker Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), ends up as the sole remaining “holdover,” and the trio bond over their shared loneliness.

Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson spin this simple premise into one of the most charming, hilarious, and ultimately life-affirming movies I’ve seen in a long time. And this trio of wonderful actors form the year’s most winning ensemble.

I know a film has worked on me when I find myself wondering about the characters’ fates after the closing credits. I would line up immediately to watch a movie about Angus’ next ten years. I want to see a movie about Paul working on the monograph he always wanted to write. And a movie about Mary becoming an aunt to her sister’s new baby.

Hell, I would watch a movie about the ski trip that pulls the other holdovers away from Barton for a week. I am on board for a Holdovers Cinematic Universe — that’s how real these characters feel to me.

Much of the credit goes to Hemingson’s brilliant script and the actors’ flawless work, but Payne deserves his share for fully embracing The Holdovers‘ 70s setting by shooting and editing the film as if it came out during that great decade for cinema. Faux-70s title cards open the movie, the music selections are spot-on, and even the framing and color grading call to mind a lost Hal Ashby film.

All of this great craft combines to make The Holdovers the rare film that just feels comfortable to live within. It’s so funny and so sad, but more than anything so lovingly human.

I can’t recommend it highly enough, and — unlike almost everything else on this list — I am 100% confident anyone reading this post will like it.

That wraps up the 2023 film year… now on to 2024! But first, I’d love to see your own 2023 top ten lists in the comments.