The 10 Best Films of 2023
I saw over 300 movies during the past twelve months. You might detect something similar about my favorites. Each of them takes a very big swing, offering a bold vision. So much is made about the modern cookie cutter state of cinema, where superhero adventures, sequels, and spinoffs rule the box office. These works prove there’s still a great deal of originality out there, despite how it may occasionally feel. These are my picks for the 10 Best Films of 2023:
10. Asteroid City - Wes Anderson’s latest has his trademark visual style and focus on eccentricity. That’s fun, as always. Underneath is a surprisingly deep tale about awe, wonder, and the power of art to help us through difficult times.
9. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - This groundbreaking animated feature puts most live-action superhero pictures to shame. The dazzling CGI is rich and full of detail, the themes are mature, and the storytelling invention is consistently captivating. Somehow, the film manages to out-do its outstanding predecessor.
8. Society of the Snow - The story of the 1972 Uruguayan plane crash in the Andes was previously told in the 1993 movie Alive. Director J.A. Bayona takes a more hardcore approach, delivering an immersive, you-are-there experience that depicts the series of brutal conditions the survivors of that crash faced during their ordeal, not the least of which was consuming the dead to survive. The experience is harrowing, yet also an inspiring portrait of the will to live.
7. Poor Things - The year’s kookiest movie features Emma Stone brilliantly portraying a childlike woman who ventures into the outside world for the first time, then has a series of awakenings, sexual and otherwise. Director Yorgos Lanthimos makes all the bizarre occurrences funny while combining them into a meaningful tale about the joy of discovery in life.
6. Beau Is Afraid - Ari Aster made the creepy horror films Hereditary and Midsommar. His latest is a comedy, but one that’s funny in a very horrific way, if that makes sense. Joaquin Phoenix gives a terrific performance as a man having a nightmarish dissociative experience that culminates with 2023’s most unforgettable sex scene. (Kudos to Parker Posey for being so game.) I was mesmerized by every weird, wild minute of this tale.
5. How to Blow Up a Pipeline - This intense, incendiary indie thriller follows a group of young activists who meet online, then team up to destroy a section of oil pipeline. Are they domestic terrorists or is this a legitimate way to deter corporations that destroy the environment we all share? To its credit, the movie doesn’t judge its characters’ actions, letting you decide for yourself. This one will get you thinking.
4. The Holdovers - Paul Giamatti does the best work of his already distinguished career in this warm, funny, and occasionally sad comedy about a troubled prep school teacher and the equally troubled student he forms a bond with. The performances are first-rate and the screenplay is full of beautifully crafted dialogue, but director Alexander Payne’s decision to shoot the film in the style of 1970s cinema gives it an extra special feel.
3. Barbie - I only gave Barbie three-and-a-half stars when I reviewed it over the summer. Silly me! A second viewing made it crystal clear just what a four-star miracle it is. In our age of IP-driven movies, it’s remarkable that director/co-writer Greta Gerwig was able to use the famous line of dolls to create a world-class social satire that mocks the concept of patriarchy. Plus, how great are Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling? This is a perfect example of what can happen when you let an interesting filmmaker do what they want.
2. Oppenheimer - In 2023, you couldn’t talk about Barbie without also talking about Oppenheimer (and vice versa), so here we are. Christopher Nolan’s thrilling look at the man who built the atomic bomb brings history alive in a captivating manner. Even better, he looks at why Oppenheimer wanted to do it and the psychological toll making such a destructive device took on him, personally and professionally. It’s an electrifying work.
And my choice for the Best Film of 2023 is:
1. Killers of the Flower Moon - People like to gripe about the long running times of movies these days, but the idea of settling in at my favorite AMC for a three-and-a-half hour Martin Scorsese epic could not have been more appealing. Anchored by the forceful performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone, this true story about a series of murders in the Osage nation benefits from its length. Scorsese takes you deep inside the tenuous relationship between the Osage people and the whites – exemplified by Robert DeNiro’s William “King” Hale – who covertly steal their riches. There isn’t a wasted minute. Even at age 81, Scorsese is still cranking out masterpieces.
