REVIEW | Must-see Oscars contender The Holdovers will enthral moviegoers with its quiet charm

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go. He soon forms an unlikely bond with a brainy but damaged troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, a woman who just lost a son in the Vietnam War.

Awards darling Alexander Payne brings another feel-good film to the big screen with The Holdovers, a hilariously sad homage to American 70s life carried by swift penmanship and passionate performance. While not as loud as some of the other Oscar contenders this season, its quiet contemplation on grief, legacy and sacrifice will enthral the moviegoers looking for a deeper connection at the cinema (that's also not traumatising).