For me this film took a little while to get going but once it did I found it to be watchable, yet nothing to shout and scream about - and this in just my opinion.
When I provide my take on a film, I will not go into the cinematography, the Direction, whether the cast was right/wrong, the costumes, the editing etc..... I will just be brief in my experience and what could have been done better and then my score out of 10.
The Holdovers:
I can relate a little to storyline setting as I myself went to a boarding school but I was born in the late 70's and the film is taking place in 1971, so that's where the comparisons end.
Now to the film, the characters were okay, but truly nobody stood out for me, and so I couldn't feel any drawn connection to any character as a result.
The story being told was enough to get you to understand exactly what was going on, but for me they could have gone so much deeper into the emotions of each of the 3 main characters... (SPOILERS NEXT)
The effects of stress/trauma to the lead boy being played by Dominc Sessa was not told at any point until it was only revealed much later and towards the end of the film, this could have been introduced into the story much sooner for me, even if it was seeing him taking the medication pills.
The alcoholism of the main character played by Paul Giamatti, it was made obvious that this was happening and I feel again they could have included shots of him sleeping and speaking/shouting during dreaming, maybe words which would indicate the events that led to his expulsion from when he was at Harvard..... Again this was not really explained until much later, so, you just got the impression his excessive drinking was due to stress and the School itself, this could have been developed better for me and you could then be empathetic to his character.
Lastly the Grief of "Mary" who was played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph... I felt it was almost shoe horned in her parts of this film and they were not powerful enough. A mother's bond with their child is truely unique with a love that cannot be replaced/replicated, and for me, mentally she should've still been an emotional wreck but she was not given the screen time to truely show this. I remember the moment when she is sat on an armchair, having a cigarette and a whiskey whilst watching comedy TV on the TV set but there was no photo of her son on her person, whether her lap, her on her lap or her hand or on the chair.. Yes they included the feeling of loss & grief but not neearly enough in a true way for m.
This could've been a far more emotional viewing experience but for me, it wasn't
At best I give 6.5/7 out of 10.
When I provide my take on a film, I will not go into the cinematography, the Direction, whether the cast was right/wrong, the costumes, the editing etc..... I will just be brief in my experience and what could have been done better and then my score out of 10.
The Holdovers:
I can relate a little to storyline setting as I myself went to a boarding school but I was born in the late 70's and the film is taking place in 1971, so that's where the comparisons end.
Now to the film, the characters were okay, but truly nobody stood out for me, and so I couldn't feel any drawn connection to any character as a result.
The story being told was enough to get you to understand exactly what was going on, but for me they could have gone so much deeper into the emotions of each of the 3 main characters... (SPOILERS NEXT)
The effects of stress/trauma to the lead boy being played by Dominc Sessa was not told at any point until it was only revealed much later and towards the end of the film, this could have been introduced into the story much sooner for me, even if it was seeing him taking the medication pills.
The alcoholism of the main character played by Paul Giamatti, it was made obvious that this was happening and I feel again they could have included shots of him sleeping and speaking/shouting during dreaming, maybe words which would indicate the events that led to his expulsion from when he was at Harvard..... Again this was not really explained until much later, so, you just got the impression his excessive drinking was due to stress and the School itself, this could have been developed better for me and you could then be empathetic to his character.
Lastly the Grief of "Mary" who was played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph... I felt it was almost shoe horned in her parts of this film and they were not powerful enough. A mother's bond with their child is truely unique with a love that cannot be replaced/replicated, and for me, mentally she should've still been an emotional wreck but she was not given the screen time to truely show this. I remember the moment when she is sat on an armchair, having a cigarette and a whiskey whilst watching comedy TV on the TV set but there was no photo of her son on her person, whether her lap, her on her lap or her hand or on the chair.. Yes they included the feeling of loss & grief but not neearly enough in a true way for m.
This could've been a far more emotional viewing experience but for me, it wasn't
At best I give 6.5/7 out of 10.