A scene from the 2001 movie “Gosford Park.”
(Mark Tillie / USA Films)
‘Gosford Park’ (VOD, multiple platforms)
Its action doesn’t take place on a dark and stormy night, and its emotional temperature — razor-sharp class satire shading into grief — doesn’t fit neatly with either cozy mysteries or noir. But there’s no film I turn to more often during a washout than Robert Altman’s 2001 upstairs/downstairs tour de force, set at an English country estate in 1932. Seen through the eyes of novice lady’s maid Mary Maceachran (Kelly Macdonald), a muddy, slate-gray shooting weekend becomes an autopsy on a tattered social order trending toward dissolution; against wrangling over investments and inheritances, lover’s spats and storeroom trysts, the murder (twice over) of the estate’s owner, former factory profiteer William McCordle (Michael Gambon), is almost immaterial. And though it’s buoyed by brilliant comic turns from Maggie Smith (as a gossipy dowager countess) and Kristin Scott Thomas (as a bored society wife), the dramatic fireworks between Helen Mirren and Eileen Atkins, as a buttoned-up housekeeper and her bawdy sister, suggest the depth of feeling the film sets against its farce. (I am incapable of watching Jeremy Northam’s Ivor Novello sing the elegiac “Land of Might-Have-Been” without crying.) Indeed, though not the filmmaker’s final film, it is his late masterwork and, I’d argue, his summative achievement: Beneath the surface of a perfect bauble, it contains a little bit of every Altman movie, and all his enduring themes, with a double gut-punch — human, historical — before the credits. What’s the point of loving movies if you don’t love “Gosford Park”? — Matt Brennan, deputy editor for entertainment and arts
‘The Exorcist’ (VOD, multiple platforms)
Nothing works better during a storm than a horror movie: Turn it up and double down on the anxiety. I’d recommend a return to William Friedkin’s immortal 1973 thriller “The Exorcist,” much celebrated two weeks ago after the director’s death at age 87. But when was the last time the power of Christ compelled you? Above and beyond the film’s supernatural elements, it also works unusually well as a stealth hug for frustrated parents: Why is my child swearing and vomiting and being so unruly? And why are these doctors so useless? Consider it research for this October’s reboot, “The Exorcist: Believer,” which brings back Ellen Burstyn and (it’s whispered) the original head-spinner herself, Linda Blair. It’s available for rent on multiple streaming services. — Joshua Rothkopf, film editor
‘Noah’ (Paramount+, Prime Video)
With a hurricane barreling toward the region, what better time to revisit Darren Aronofsky’s retelling of the Old Testament account of apocalyptic deluge and a floating ark? If you’re a glass-half-full person, you could watch, look out your window and think, “Well, this isn’t so bad.” If you’re more of a pessimist, consider it a how-to primer. Either way, there’s much to appreciate about Aronofsky’s daring action extravaganza, which boasts ferocious Russell Crowe eradicating all those Sunday school memories you might have of a kindly Noah ushering animals, two by two, onto a wooden vessel. “Artistic license” has indeed been taken, as the prologue’s disclaimer notes, but most of Aronofsky’s departures are inspired and thought-provoking. It’s the best kind of religious movie: one that makes you examine faith more deeply. — Glenn Whipp, columnist
‘Weathering With You’ (Max)
Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai followed up his breakout hit “Your Name” (2016) with “Weathering With You,” a gorgeously animated teen romance centering a teenage runaway named Hodaka Morishima. While trying to figure out how to survive on his own in Tokyo, Hodaka meets Hina Amano, a fellow teen who is working to take care of her younger brother after the death of their mother. Hina, it turns out, has the ability to control the weather — a skill with business potential in a Japan that has been beset with increasingly excessive and unpredictable rain. While the film doesn’t quite touch on the reasons for its climate catastrophe, it is perhaps the most beautiful depiction of torrential rain that you will ever see. But this ultimately is a story about two teenagers finding love and a way to survive in a world where so much seems out of their control, which feels increasingly relevant right now. — Tracy Brown
