If any doubt remains that Adam Driver is one of the top talents of this decade, Marriage Story puts an end to those thoughts. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, the film features Driver as a New York indie-theater director whose wife (Scarlett Johansson) moves to Hollywood for her acting career. Divorce ensues, with their young son in the middle. It might be the most wrenching, poignant movie about a father and mother’s struggle to maintain a family in the face of their personal desires since Kramer vs. Kramer. (In theaters now.)
Shine
Flashlight
Call us old-fashioned, but we think there’s something a bit sad about formerly essential tools that have been tossed aside in favor of smartphones. You might be hard pressed to find a kitchen drawer in New York with a paper map, a radio, or a flashlight. But at AIR MAIL HQ, we know that nothing incites unease quite like a power outage. It’s hard to shine your iPhone into a dimly illuminated stairwell and confidently shout, “Uh, who’s there?” No, for that, you need something a bit more substantial: the Nebo Slyde King gives off a bold brightness, slides open to double as a lantern for your walks in the woods, and takes up no more space in a bag than a glasses case. And if you’re worried about going to replace the batteries, only to find that they’ve exploded and left a green crust of God knows what, don’t—you can charge the Slyde King with a USB. ($39.99, amazon.com)
Wear
A Winning Rolex
Through all his championships, all the times his famed wrists provided a blast of strength or the perfect soft touch, there was one constant when Jack Nicklaus raised a trophy: he always wore his Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date. Now the Golden Bear is putting the 50-year-old watch up for auction with Phillips, in order to raise money for his Children’s Health Care Foundation. “I decided if I take this watch and give it to one of my kids, it’ll end up in a drawer someplace,” Nicklaus told The Wall Street Journal. Whether or not his watch will give your wrists some of his skill, we can’t promise. But it’ll always make for great conversation on the 19th hole, when you need to distract your foursome from your less-than-great round. (Auction: December 10; phillips.com)
Eat
Díporto
Near Athens’s Central Market, far from the shadow of the Acropolis and its surrounding tourist traps, two nondescript cellar doors lead to Díporto, an excellent yet clandestine restaurant delivering the best classic Greek food in the nation’s capital. Though the waiter (there’s only one) speaks no English, there’s no cause for alarm. All guests are guided to the kitchen, where they simply point at whichever dish they’d like. The small menu—five items, including two stews, a seared meat, the day’s freshest fish, and a crisp salad—changes daily, and its execution is consistently flawless. Hope for the tomato-lamb stew, fortified with beans, or the tiny fried smelts so tender you can eat them whole. (9 Sokratous, Theatrou, Psirri, Athens; +30-21-0321-1463)
Listen
You Must Remember This
Karina Longworth is an archaeologist of Old Hollywood, weaving together movie lore and social history in her podcast, You Must Remember This. (One season was devoted to the Hollywood blacklist; another was titled “Dead Blondes.”) Currently, she is deconstructing Song of the South, the once beloved 1946 Walt Disney film based on the Uncle Remus stories that included the song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” Now considered racist, Song of the South has never been released for home video. Longworth goes deep into Disney’s oeuvre and civil-rights history to explain why the film was so popular and so incendiary. (youmustrememberthis.com)
Ride
Garibaldi C Prohibition
If you like Barolo with barbecued brisket, Garneau’s flagship bike, the Garibaldi C Prohibition, will suit your varied tastes. Named as much to honor Giuseppe Garibaldi, the 19th-century general responsible for uniting Italy, as it was to evoke Prohibition-era bootleggers who traversed Appalachia’s rocky terrain, this cycle handles open roads as well as dirt trails. And its look is equal parts rugged and refined. The slim carbon frame is burnished in a copper tone, while the English Brooks saddle is a nod to well-appointed performance. ($3,400; garneau.com)