00:00Hi, welcome back to my channel, in this video, I will explain the ending of The Holdovers,
00:04so let's begin.
00:06With Alexander Payne occupying the director's chair, The Holdovers is a comedy-drama movie
00:10that sees Paul Giamatti assume the role of a bad-tempered history teacher, Paul Hunham,
00:14at a remotely situated prep school.
00:17When Christmas arrives, it brings joy and holidays for all the staff members of the
00:21school, except for Paul.
00:23He is instructed to stay back on campus this holiday season and look after a bunch of students
00:27who have nowhere to go.
00:29Over time, Paul gets out of his grumpy attitude and forms an unexpected bond with one of the
00:33students, a brainy troublemaker, as well as the school's head cook, who is grieving for
00:37his recently lost son.
00:39The quick transitions in the backdrops are symbolic of the growing change in Paul's attitude
00:43and the relationship with his students.
00:46Here's everything you need to know about the ending, just to let you know this video will
00:49contain spoilers.
00:51The Holdovers takes place in the early 1970s during the dawn of the Vietnam War.
00:56The students at the New England Prep School Barton Academy are all looking forward to
00:59their upcoming holiday break, which promises them time away from their rigorous studies.
01:04Many of the young men on campus are particularly enthused about getting away from their strict
01:08instructor, Paul Hunham.
01:10Hunham apparently has no compassion for his students and doesn't seem to care that they
01:14will all be with their families soon.
01:16He intends to assign them a significant portion of new reading material after a majority of
01:20his class bombs an exam right before they are scheduled to leave for break.
01:24However, the shadow of tragedy looms over campus, as the Vietnam War is ever-present
01:28in every student's mind.
01:30Barton Academy's hard-working chef, Mary Lamb, recently lost her son in the war, making the
01:35holiday season even more challenging.
01:37The thought of leaving school for a military academy is a major fear for the teenager Angus
01:41Tully.
01:43Angus has been told by his parents that if he flunks out of class, he will immediately
01:46be sent to a military school that can deal with his attitude.
01:50Unfortunately, Angus is among the group of students that must hold over during Christmas
01:54break.
01:55Angus and his companions don't have parents who are willing to come and pick them up for
01:58the holidays, so they must stay on campus under the care of Hunham.
02:02Hunham isn't keen to make the experience any easier for them and insists that they all
02:05continue to follow strict guidelines that adhere to a traditional day of studies.
02:10This means that for Angus and his friends, Christmas break will be all about reading
02:13and preparing for the next rigorous semester.
02:16They share in their collective misery as Hunham's assignments loom over them.
02:20Angus' class rival, Teddy Koontz, is able to get out of a holding over once he contacts
02:25his parents, asking them to take him and the other students on a skiing trip to a luxury
02:28resort.
02:30While most of the other students' parents agree to let them take the trip, Barton Academy
02:34can't get in contact with Angus' parents.
02:37This humiliates and infuriates the young boy.
02:40He doesn't just have to watch his friends enjoy a nice, relaxing vacation hitting the
02:43slopes, he has the unenviable task of spending an entire winter break with Hunham.
02:48Angus is quick to lash out at Hunham, who he believes takes personal pleasure in a torturing
02:52his students.
02:54Why the Holdover's Ending is Perfect
02:57Hunham and Angus begin to open up to each other after spending a few weeks together
03:00in close quarters.
03:02Both are alone on Christmas and reflect on what they may have done if they had someone
03:06close to them that they could connect with.
03:08Hunham often lashes out at Angus for his irresponsible behavior but begins to reign in his rage after
03:13learning about the boy's parentage.
03:15Angus claims that his father is dead, his mother, Judy Clotfelter is married to his
03:19rich stepfather, Stanley.
03:22Apparently, Judy would rather spend time taking a vacation with her new husband than inviting
03:26Angus home for Christmas break.
03:28Hunham realizes that he's misjudged Angus and realizes that the boy's misbehavior might
03:33stem from the lack of attention he received from his parents.
03:36Although Hunham does his best to give Angus a fun holiday at Barton Academy by bringing
03:40in a Christmas tree and celebrating fine meals, Angus is insistent that they take a
03:44trip to Boston.
03:45Angus has dreamed about going to Boston with his parents and was denied the chance to go
03:49when he was left at Barton Academy all alone.
03:52Hunham and Mary reluctantly agree to take him on a sightseeing day trip.
03:56While Hunham and Angus seem to enjoy their day in Boston, Angus slips out of his professor's
04:00view while they are attending a screening of the Dustin Hoffman Western Little Big
04:03Man.
04:05After Hunham catches up with Angus, he realizes that the boy is trying to get into contact
04:09with his father.
04:10Even though Angus initially told Hunham that his father was dead, it's revealed that he
04:13is in a psychiatric facility.
04:16Hunham agrees to take Angus to see his father.
04:19Unfortunately, this visit is reported back to Judy, who has strictly forbidden Angus
04:23from seeing his father.
04:25Since he directly disobeyed her command, Angus will be sent to military school.
04:29After Angus' mother and stepfather confront the school about his activities over break,
04:33Hunham decides to take responsibility for their trip.
04:37He claims that going to Boston was his idea, claiming that Angus was simply along for the
04:41ride.
04:42While this saves Angus a trip to military school, it means that Hunham is immediately
04:46fired.
04:47Surprisingly, Hunham isn't particularly upset about his termination, he went into education
04:52to change students' lives, and he knows that he's changed Angus.
04:56As he drives away, Hunham sets off on a new journey where he will no longer be bound to
04:59the rules of Barton Academy.
05:02That's all for now folks, I would appreciate it if you could give the video a super thanks
05:05with a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel so you can see more content like this every
05:09day, take care, bye!
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