A cornucopia of choices, horror’s reign continued and back to the theater we went.
The best films of 2023 ran the gamut from smart blockbusters to beautifully observed independents. It’s encouraging to see that good stories come from many places – the studios no longer own that ground. Veteran filmmakers upped their game, while debut filmmakers offered personal stories and the promise of what’s to come from them. Whatever your preference or comfort level, there were many great films to choose from.
Pet Peeves for the Year
Because of streaming, where most films (and tv shows) can run any length – movies are getting longer. That’s fine – as long as the narratives deserve the runtime. But some of the length seems to be more of an indulgence, what was once considered a director’s cut. If one opts for the big-screen experience, Oppenheimer for example, by the time the previews are finished, you've already been in the seat for 30 minutes. Add that on to the movie and that’s nearly four hours. (That's why I'm waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon to stream.) Those reclining seats are comfy, but that’s a lot of sitting in a theater.
Gripe about release timelines – films get a super short theatrical release and then go directly to a streamer, often as exclusives. If one doesn't subscribe to nearly all the channels, it's a lengthy wait to see the movies elsewhere as rentals.
Unless one attends film festivals regularly, the bulk of the films are crammed into general release 10 days before the end of the year, over the holidays. There’s no joy for me in reading best-of lists (which include too many undisclosed spoilers, by the way) because most of the critics choices haven’t been released yet. I read the lists to agree or disagree with the critics' choices – not necessarily for recommendations.
Butts in Seats are Back
While the 2023 film industry hasn’t matched pre-pandemic levels of output or audiences, all indicators point to a resurgence of moviegoing. Barbenheimer served as a major propellant – the two movies whipped viewers into a virtual frenzy and drove butts back into seats. The combined films hauled in nearly $2.5 billion worldwide – an important life raft for the industry, especially after the epic writers' and SAG strikes.
Horror Films Continue to Impress
Of the nearly 140 movies that I watched this year, about 25 of them fall into the horror category. While I didn’t see as many “fun” scary flicks as last year, new ones filtered hot topics through the genre with great success. Gerard Johnstone’s M3gan illustrates what could happen if an AI goes rogue; Baby Ruby addresses the symptoms of postpartum depression; M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin asks one family to do the unimaginable in an apocalyptic nightmare; Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool looks at remote vacationers who violate foreign cultural norms; and Huesera: The Bone Woman posits impending motherhood as a curse, with the associated fears and anxieties playing out through dark magic.
My Picks
For 2023 – I went with a mix of 10 films from veteran filmmakers to first-time directors – an impressive collection of titles. A wide-ranging collection of big films and indies, with many debuts from women filmmakers. The list will be addended, if needed, upon further viewing.
My 2023 top 10 films (spoiler lite), alpha’d:
A Thousand and One | A. V. Rockwell, Director + Writer
Fierce, first-feature from director A.V. Rockwell focuses on a mother and son living in Harlem in 1994, and spans more than a decade. After incarceration, free-spirited Inez (a ferocious performance by Teyana Taylor), picks up her life and her young boy. But time has moved on – and Inez’s slice of the world changed. All is not as it seems, as Rockwell weaves gentrification, local policing tactics and cultural norms into a very fine narrative that straddles heartbreaking and hopeful.
Asteroid City | Wes Anderson, Director + Writer
Within visually stunning dioramas in their slightly off, candy-coated palette, disparate travelers get trapped in a speck of a desert town in the 1950s while attending a young astronomers convention. Through a multi-layered structure – a play, broadcast on tv, within a film – the huge, excellent ensemble interacts both in and out of character (within the film), which reveals plenty. This is Wes Anderson at his best: Juxtaposing a wispy veneer against grief, loneliness and the fear that hovered in this strange decade of both stilt and impending change – what’s real? It’s Anderson’s love of oddities, or making what’s seemingly odd feel so human that grounds the movie. Speaking in the director’s trademark deadpan style, the actors deliver lines that at times are hysterically funny or tragically heartbreaking. I love this film, it succeeds on every level – and is one of Wes Anderson’s gems.
Beau is Afraid | Ari Aster, Director + Writer
A horror, of sorts – unlike Aster’s earlier, chilling films, Heredity and Midsommar, “Beau” is very funny, the blackest of humor, and oh-so gonzo. In an excellent, sympathetic performance, Joaquin Phoenix stars as the anxiety-ridden title character in the midst of a complete breakdown after the sudden death of his mother. Throughout his Kafkaesque odyssey, Phoenix is supported by a game cast including Patti LuPone, Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan. You'll either love it or hate it, there is no in-between. The film is John Waters’ pick for the best of the year. Need I say more?
The Eight Mountains | Felix van Groeningen / Charlotte Vandermeersch, Co-directors + Co-writers
Set against stunning vistas in the Italian Alps, two boys from very different backgrounds meet one summer in the early 1980s. This is a beautiful story of male friendship from youth through adulthood as it changes, drifts and reconciles. The title refers to various Asian beliefs of the eight mountains with Mount Meru as their spiritual center, and serves as a metaphor for each of the men’s chosen paths. Nature and silence are pivotal characters, and the pace is purposely unhurried. The film is poetic, reflective, while depicting complex relationships and unsorted feelings that run deep. The two central performances more than meet each moment.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline | Daniel Goldhaber, Director + Co-writer
A young group of environmental activists set their sights on a Texas oil pipeline in this terrific, fictional adaptation of Andreas Malm’s manifesto on eco-sabotage. Part heist, part thriller, part character study, a well-cast ensemble deftly brings these characters to life. The film switches back and forth between moving the mission forward, and providing each character with a backstory of how they came to participate. Goldhaber effortlessly weaves the narratives together and never takes the viewer out of the story, or lets up on the tension. Agree or disagree with the plan, it’s a nervy, fierce film – and perhaps, a warning from a young generation that feels betrayed by climate promises still unfulfilled.
Oppenheimer | Christopher Nolan, Director + Writer
Standing by my first pass, the film is an incredibly ambitious work with stunning cinematography and a masterful performance by Cillian Murphy along with the entire cast. What I got on the second viewing was the narrative that I missed in the first half of the film. Armed this time with a knowledge of the history and the players involved, I was able to absorb all of the nuances of the storytelling. Whether needing to do the work is a plus or a flaw is debatable. The women’s roles made more sense, though they are still background to the male characters. I didn’t feel the runtime, I was fully engrossed. Nolan is all about the details – a skill particularly suited to Oppenheimer’s very complex, very complicated story. Read my original review.
Passages | Ira Sachs, Director + Co-writer
A love triangle – blinking caution! Set in Paris, American director Sachs constructs a candid, modern portrait of life, love and sexual fluidity. Franz Rogowski (a remarkable actor, Transit, Great Freedom) turns in another excellent performance as Tomas, a narcissistic film director, married to his husband (Ben Whishaw) while having an affair with a young straight woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos). As Tomas manipulates each mate and pings-pongs between both relationships, the film becomes an unflinching forensic examination of the push-and-pull of power. The trio is superb and works well within this Venn diagram. There are hints of comic relief, but mainly this is a frank, graphic adventure that is hard to turn away from because you know the train wreck is coming. Or maybe not, depending on your interpretation.
Past Lives | Celine Song, Director + Writer
Stunning debut feature from Song about two childhood friends in South Korea separated at a tender age by one family’s immigration to Canada. Nora (Greta Lee) makes her life in New York where she reconnects with childhood friend, Hae Soo (Teo Yoo) virtually. After many years, Nora’s previous life and her current life bump against each other. It’s a memory piece about past connections, and a confrontation of the choices we make as youth versus the choices we live with as adults. The triad of actors (including John Magaro) are superb. Loved, loved this emotional, soulful, rollercoaster of a film.
Poor Things | Yorgos Lanthimos, Director
There seems to be no end to Lanthimos’ imagination and visual invention – going beyond his earlier, excellent films, The Lobster and The Favourite. In a tour-de-force performance, Emma Stone plays Bella, a pregnant, recently deceased woman brought back to life by Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). God (as Bella calls him) frankensteins her by transplanting her baby’s brain into her adult body. Duncan (Mark Ruffalo) is Bella’s rakish lover who shows her the world. Absolutely bonkers (even the cinematography), darkly stylish (a la Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton), with terrific performances from the entire cast, the film is filled with humor, tenderness and love. An absurd, offbeat film about reinvention, independence and finding your place when you’re out of step in your time.
Showing Up | Kelly Reichardt, Director + Co-writer
As a huge fan of Reichardt’s work, I fully enjoyed this restrained study of an artist's life – balancing making art and making a living. Once again, Michelle Williams leads the director’s film as Lizzy, a Portland-based sculptor preparing for a new show. The power of this film is in its observations: on the artist, the day by day work, the act of trying to create when life happens, and the need to create. A beautiful, powerful film – that celebrates an ordinary day in the life. It stuck with me and whirled in my mind long after the film ended.
ADDENDUM: Don't miss The Zone of Interest. Had I seen it before I posted my top 10, it would have been included.
Honorable Mentions and Notable
All of Us Strangers, Biosphere, Blackberry, The Blue Caftan, Corsage, Fingernails, Fremont, Linoleum, The Lost King, Master Gardener, Saltburn, Sanctuary, Sisu. You Hurt My Feelings.
Still to See List
Afire, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Earth Mama, Fallen Leaves, The Holdovers, May December, Occupied City, Reality, Rye Lane, and many more.
Check out last year's list here. Browse the past five years for ideas. You might find something unexpected that you missed.
The 2024 Oscars: One Hour Earlier
The 96th Academy Awards are scheduled for Sunday, 10 march 2024. Jimmy Kimmel hosts again, and the broadcast begins at 7pm instead of 8pm. Will the show simply run longer, or will viewers get to bed before midnight ET?
What's your top ten movie list for 2023 look like?
Design + animation: © 2023 Janet Giampietro, marquee photo: Christian Liu Unsplash | Posters are copyright of each studio, production company or streaming service.
