Had I remembered that this was set around Christmas, I would have waited until late July if not December. As it was, I knew only that it was an Academy Best Picture-nominated comedy drama featuring Paul Giamatti. And that it was available on Prime.
Paul Hunham (Giamatti, naturally) is the Scroogiest teacher at a prestigious New England boarding school in 1970. Since he's unpopular and was going to spend winter break at the school anyway, he is assigned to supervise five boys who can't go home for one reason or another. Unlike the headmaster (Andrew Garman), he believes that the students need extra discipline at this time. Four of them get parental permission to go on a ski trip instead, leaving the neglected, rebellious, yet rather scholastically adept Angus (Dominic Sessa) alone with Hunham, cook Mary (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), and occasionally custodian Danny (Naheem Garcia).
I found it rather odd to have four seemingly major characters disappear about a third of the way through the 133 minutes. When they finally reappear, they still have no further bearing on the plot. It feels like the makers had planned a lot more but cut it for length.
Nevertheless, I'm glad for the simplicity. There's plenty to tell with Hunham bouncing off Angus and Mary until they reach an understanding. Paul has no love of his remaining family, doesn't believe in God, and has long preferred solitude. Angus can't stand his new stepfather (Tate Donovan) and senses that his mother (Gillian Vigman) is minimizing contact with Angus because he reminds her of her first husband (Stephen Thorne). Mary's a widow, and her son just died in the Vietnam War. Small wonder the three become almost like family to each other.
Like in another Alexander Payne-directed flick, Sideways, Giamatti's character is a heavily drinking grouch, has a singular obsession -- in this case, classical history (thinking of ancient Rome even more than most American men these days) -- and seems nigh unlikable at first but gradually shows his virtues. In some ways, Hunham was dealt a bad hand: His strabismus and trimethylaminuria do no favors for his attractiveness, tho he claims a raunchy past. He preaches strong principles but is repeatedly shown his own hypocrisy; to his credit, he relents.
Of course, this isn't just a story of how the Grinch's heart grew. Angus may feel like the sole voice of reason half the time, but he has a lot to learn, not just in the academic sense. After some impetuous acts yield consequences, he takes matters more seriously, realizing he's not the only person worth caring about around there.
For all her screentime, Mary doesn't get nearly as much plot focus, serving more as a moral guide sympathetic to both Hunham and Angus. Nevertheless, Randolph would not have gotten an Oscar if she didn't play a full-fledged character. Mary usually seems to have it together, but she can hit the bottle even harder than Hunham and fall to pieces. Mercifully, her arc ends on a hopeful note.
I'm not sure who speaks to me the most, but the gestalt is quite solid. TH is my new favorite Payne pic. It would be a hard sell for Best Picture in any year, but I'm glad it was nominated.
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