“The Holdovers,” May 9

Thursday, May 9, 1 p.m.

Rock Island Public Library Downtown Branch, 401 19th Street, Rock Island IL

Currently standing with a 97-percent "freshness rating" on Rotten Tomatoes and hailed by the Web site as "beautifully bittersweet," director Alexander Payne's Oscar-winning comedic drama The Holdovers enjoys a May 9 screening with the Rock Island Public Library's downtown-branch Downtown Movie Club, with the New York Times raving that "Even as the story accrues the heft of personal tragedy, each scene seems to float or bob."

Set in late 1970 and early 1971, The Holdovers stars Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti as a strict classics teacher at a New England boarding school who is forced to chaperone a handful of students with nowhere to go on the Christmas break. This past March, Da'Vine Joy Randolph won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for portraying the school's cafeteria manager Mary Lamb, while Dominic Sessa, in his film debut, portrays Angus Tilly, one of the "holdover" students forced to stay at school during the holidays.

To create the fictional Barton Academy, The Holdovers' film crew shot on location at five real-life Massachusetts schools: Groton School (the chapel and the Nashua River), Northfield Mount Hermon School (the chapel and building exteriors), Deerfield Academy (the front lawn and building exteriors), St. Mark's School (the dining hall, gymnasium, and headmaster's office), and Fairhaven High School (the study hall and auditorium) Co-star Sessa actually attended Deerfield in the class of 2022, and Payne later said that capturing the 1970s aesthetic was relatively easy because "change comes slowly to New England."

Payne's film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023, and was released in the United States by Focus Features on October 27. It received highly positive reviews and has grossed more than $44 million worldwide on a budget of $13 million. The movie was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, and received many other accolades, including two wins at the Golden Globe Awards and the British Academy Film Awards. Beyond being cited for nominee Giamatti and winner Randolph, The Holdovers received three additional nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Film Editing, and Original Screenplay for author David Hemingson.

The Holdovers will be presented in the Rock Island Public Library's downtown branch on May 9, admission to the 1 p.m. screening is free, and light refreshments will be provided. For additional information, call (309)732-7323 and visit RockIslandLibrary.com.