Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

You have nowhere to go for the holidays, so what do you do? Well, in the case of student Angus, you stay at school with your hated History teacher Mr Hunham and… oh, yes, the school cook Mary. Mr Hunham is there because he refused to pass the son of one of the school's rich benefactors and as a punishment he is left looking after the 'holdovers' - those with no home to go to. Mary is there because her son has been recently killed in Vietnam and doesn't want to be home alone.

"Nothing about 'The Holdovers' sounds particularly special, and yet it's one of director Alexander Payne's best films – very funny, occasionally touching and a sterling example of the bonds that can be forged by an unlikely family. Set in a stiff New England private school in 1970, it passes the 'should see' test with flying colours" - Brian Lowry, CNN.

I should also add that it stars Paul Giamatti who never fails to be 'worth watching'. Alexander Payne has made several movies about guys like Mr Hunham and Angus - losers who show just how bad men can make their own and everyone else's life. We had 'Nebraska' here in 2013, and you will probably have seen 'Sideways' or 'About Schmidt'.

Well, he is back here at his best.