I have rewatched it every Christmas since. It is the only recent film I would put on for my father without checking first.
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school 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 — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Alexander Payne
Director
Paul Giamatti
Actor
Dominic Sessa
Actor
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Actor
Carrie Preston
Actor
Brady Hepner
Actor
- Director
- Alexander Payne
- Released
- 2023
- Runtime
- 2h 13m
- Certificate
- 15
- Language
- English
What people described
3 scored
90
Neil Draper
10 July 2026
Why this scoreAnnual repeat viewing and a trust-based recommendation; top band.
86
Marcia Boyle
23 June 2026
The scene where she talks about her son in the kitchen stopped the film dead in the best way. I put my fork down.
Why this scoreNamed scene with a described physical interruption; strong.
80
Doug Fairley
26 May 2026
Warm and a bit predictable. I knew where it was going by the second act and did not mind being taken there.
Why this scorePredictability noted but enjoyment reported; solid.