Stranded for the holidays: ‘The Holdovers’ is a story of misfits and found family

Waltham has a cameo role in ‘The Holdovers,’ a modern classic Christmas movie 

If you’re looking for a holiday film to enjoy with friends and family this season, consider “The Holdovers,” a comedy drama about a cantankerous classics teacher forced to chaperone a group of students stuck at a fictional New England boarding school over the Christmas break. A key scene is set at Waltham’s iconic Chateau Restaurant.

In February 2022 director Alexander Payne and his production team descended upon Waltham to film the movie “The Holdovers” outside the Chateau, one of the city’s oldest Italian-American establishments.

Payne, who also directed such critically acclaimed films as “Election” (1999), “Sideways” (2004) and “Nebraska” (2013), chose to shoot in and around Boston because it was full of locations that could be used for the 1970-1971 setting of the film. Creating a ’70s feel was relatively easy “because change comes slowly to New England,” Payne said in an interview with WBUR.

Established in 1933 by the Nocera family at 195 School St., the Chateau has served the community for decades with friendly service and reliable Italian-American cuisine. The classic Italy-inspired architecture and vintage feel contribute to the retro look of the movie. The film crew transformed the parking lot outside the restaurant with seasonal decorations and vintage 1960s cars. 

“The Holdovers” stars Paul Giamatti as Paul Dunham, the curmudgeonly classics professor disliked by both students and faculty. He begrudgingly accepts the job of remaining at the school during winter break with a troubled student named Angus, played by newcomer Dominic Sessa, and a grieving cafeteria worker named Mary, played by Davine Joy Randolph, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. Over the course of the film, an unlikely bond develops between Paul and Angus as they undertake a journey of self-discovery that helps them understand that they are not bound by their past and that they can choose their own futures.

During a memorable scene filmed at the Chateau, Paul, Angus and Mary’s order of cherries jubilee is declined because Angus is not of legal age to consume alcohol. Out in the parking lot with the warm glow of the red Chateau sign behind them, the trio create their own cherries jubilee dish, pouring Jim Beam bourbon over the cherries and ice cream and setting it on fire — their makeshift rule-breaking version of the dessert. 

Rated R for language, some drug use and brief sexual content, “The Holdovers” was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. The film garnered two Golden Globes and five Oscar nominations, including the Best Supporting Actress win by Randolph. Filmmaker James Gray praised the film saying, “…the movie recalls vividly both that era’s glorious dreams and the stinging cost of idealism. These lonely souls may seem doomed, but they’re still trying. And though bearing witness may not always be pretty, it is beautiful. So is ‘The Holdovers.’”

It’s a timeless tale, as is its setting in Waltham. In an ever changing landscape of restaurants coming and going, the Chateau remains steadfast, walls continue upright, bricks meet, floors are firm and doors are sensibly open for business.