Top 10 Films of 2023
(and a bunch of honorable mentions)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. By that I mean, of course, the time of year when film Twitter becomes flooded with critics’ top 10 lists. It’s exciting to see writers breakdown their reasonings for liking some films more than others and predict which new releases will stand the test of the time.
This post is my attempt at listing the films that I found the most impactful in 2023. I consistently go back and forth between discussing films from a subjective or objective level, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s impossible to be completely objective. No two films are the same and no two critics are the same. We are human beings with certain life experiences, values, and worldviews. Because of this, some films are naturally going to rank higher because we are emotionally invested in what they are saying. I tried to combine what I know about the art of filmmaking with my own personal preferences when putting this list together. And this is what I came up with. So, here goes nothing. First, to give some perspective, here are some honorable mentions (my #11-20):
El Conde
Talk to Me (Here is a blurb I wrote on this film for Halloween)
The Killer
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
Ferrari
Priscilla
Beau is Afraid
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
…and now my official top 10 movies of 2023:
10. John Wick: Chapter 4
I’ll admit that I am not the biggest John Wick fan. I enjoy the first two movies (and despise the third one) and find the action set-pieces in each film to be more impressive than those in other blockbusters. But beyond that, I was never really invested in these movies…leading me to not see the fourth installment until months after its theatrical run. What makes Chapter 4 the obvious superior installment in this franchise is director Chad Stahelski taking a clear step forward in his filmmaking ability outside of the action sequences. Everything else in this film (the cinematography, writing, etc.) feels elevated, and the dramatic moments hit harder in response. I felt the influence of John Ford, Clint Eastwood, Akira Kurosawa, and David Lean. Keanu Reeves is as committed as ever in the title role, leading to the most ambitious — audacious, even — chapter in this popular story.
9. Infinity Pool
Infinity Pool was one of the first 2023 releases I saw, and it’s lingered in my brain ever since. Directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary body horror master David Cronenberg, the film follows a writer (Alexander Skarsgård) and his wife (Cleopatra Coleman) vacation at an exotic resort and things…get crazy. Blending elements of horror and sci-fi with an effective “eat the rich” narrative, Cronenberg crafts one of the most disturbing films of the year. Mia Goth gives one of my favorite performances of the year, playing a supposed fan of the writer’s (named James Foster) books who reveals herself to be increasingly deranged as the film unfolds. Its moody atmosphere and provocative imagery will not be for everyone, but I think this is a great next step for Cronenberg, who both pays homage to his father’s films while also paving his own lane.
8. Poor Things
In a year full of weirdo (in an endearing way) auteurs making crazy passion projects (see also Infinity Pool and Beau is Afraid), Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things is the weirdest, craziest, and most impressive. This Frankenstein’s monster of a movie (quite literally) features fantastical production design, Lanthimos’ signature dry humor, and distinct and engaging camera work in what is the Greek director’s most epic tale yet. Powered by an Emma Stone performance that you have to see to believe (playing a woman brought back to life by a mad scientist), Lanthimos tackles themes of feminism, free will, and the destructive nature of modern society in what is one of the most unique, unsettling moviegoing experiences of the year. Rounding out the cast is Ramy Youssef, Willem Dafoe, and a very punchable Mark Ruffalo, all doing some of their best work. Again, this is one of those movies that simply may be too out-there for some viewers, but those willing to examine the film in a deeper way, past its provocations, will find a fascinating foray into very relevant issues.
7. May December
I think Todd Haynes’ May December may be the most emotionally complex film of the year. It explores complicated topics in a way that never feels sensationalist or manipulative. Haynes treats his characters — including a married couple with a controversial relationship (Julianne Moore and Charles Melton) and an actress studying their lives for an upcoming film (Natalie Portman) — as real human beings rather than simply projections of ideas. This approach allows room for the audience to see the, good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the authenticity of life in a way that few films are able to achieve. This is one of my favorite scripts of the year, featuring several line readings that are amongst the best of 2023 (it helps when your three leads are all giving excellent performances). Haynes visual style may feel mundane, but he evokes the likes of Bergman’s Persona to examine his characters on a psychological level. The film reveals what I believe to be the de-humanizing effects of our media-centered lives. Haynes reminds us that behind every story in today’s “outrage culture” involves real human beings, and the complexity that comes with human drama lies at the heart of what this movie is portraying.
6. Past Lives
Celine Song’s debut feature Past Lives could’ve easily drifted into corny romantic drama territory. The film follows two childhood friends (Greta Lee and Teo Yoo) reconnecting after 20 years. Instead of going the cheesy Hollywood router, Song’s film expertly and effortlessly weaves the story into something much more complex, and much more beautiful as a result. It’s real, honest, and features some terrific shots that are not only composed proficiently, but gives some thematic weight to the characters and the different paths they go down emotionally. The ending alone is an absolute tearjerker, but the entire journey is worth going on because the film has so much to say about love, growth, and separation.
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2023 was a pretty great year for animation. The follow-up to 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, this movie continues and advances the style of the original film. A certain scene involving Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and her father (Shea Whigham) and other scenes throughout this sequel take the animation to another level. The voice cast, led again by Shameik Moore as Miles Morales is doing great work, and the film itself both celebrates and deconstructs the Spider-Man mythos in a way that I found highly engaging. And while this is a sequel (one that ends with a hardcore cliffhanger, setting up the third movie), Across the Spider-Verse still feels like something wholly original. We’ve seen a lot of “multiverse” movies these days, especially in the superhero realm, but this one feels like the most quintessential of the bunch. And, depending on my mood, I could be inclined to say that this is also the quintessential Spider-Man movie (though I’m still quite impartial to Raimi’s Spider-Man 2). I think this movie is that successful in injecting fun and thematic weight into this iconic character.
4. The Boy and the Heron
Back-to-back animated movies on my Top 10? Absolutely. Director and animator Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) came out of retirement to make The Boy and the Heron (originally titled How do You Live in Japan). Miyazaki uses the film, which follows a young boy who enters a dream world to search for his recently deceased mother, to examine his own life and work (Miyazaki is 82). The result is one of Studio Ghibli’s most poetic films, one that feels more focused on ideas and images than on traditional narrative structure. The films asks us to consider what we as humans might be leaving behind, what our legacies will be, and what the future looks like for the next generation. It’s pure Miyazaki magic, a movie that moved me more than maybe any other this year.
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon asks us to reckon with our history. As a society, we’ve had to grapple with some of the darker chapters in American history, and much of that grappling has been happening very recently. The great thing about art, and filmmaking especially, is that it can present things to us in a way that is visceral. Martin Scorsese’s latest epic does just that. Scorsese mixes his common ideas of violence and masculinity into a previously unexplored genre for him (the western) and as a result crafted another late-career masterpiece on-par with The Irishman. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert de Niro, and relative newcomer Lily Gladstone are firing on all cylinders to tell this story of multiple members of the Osage Nation that are murdered in the 1920s after oil is discovered on their land. It’s an ultimately heartbreaking true story that, as I said, asks us to reckon with our past while also implying that, sadly, the hearts and minds of people in the modern day may be just as cruel and just as wicked as that of de Niro’s William Hale. Adapted from David Grann’s book, Killers of the Flower Moon is essential.
2. Asteroid City
Asteroid City poses an interesting conundrum for me. I have a hard time saying it’s an objectively better film than Killers of the Flower Moon, but I gave Wes Anderson’s newest the edge over Scorsese’s picture because of the emotional resonance I have for this story. Rich in Anderson’s signature style, Asteroid City is also his most substantive movie in a long time. I won’t even begin to describe the plot, but just know that it’s a television show about a documentary about a stage play set in a desert town in 1950s America. Confused yet? Don’t let Anderson’s metatextuality concern you; the film covers universal ideas of loneliness, confusion, and understanding one’s place in the world. It’s funny, moving, and wild in a way that only Anderson can achieve. A cast led by Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Ed Norton, and many more compliments Anderson’s usual aesthetic brilliance to concoct what is ultimately a study of the human condition.
1. Oppenheimer
I credit Christopher Nolan for being the director that truly got me into cinema, thanks largely to his Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar. He’s one of my favorite mainstream directors certainly for nostalgic reasons, but also because I fully believe that he has cracked the code of making truly important, thematic works that are also engaging for general audiences. Though I like both films, his last two features (Dunkirk and Tenet) slightly underwhelmed me compared to his previous works. Still, my excitement for Oppenheimer was sky-high. It met and exceeded my expectations on almost every level.
An intensely subjective look into the man behind the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer perfectly induces fear by looking into the abyss, attempting to unpack the destructive tendencies of humanity itself (a reoccuring theme this year in film). Cillian Murphy portrays J. Robert Oppenheimer in what is hands-down the performance of the year for me (his eyes are doing so much here). The rest of the A-list cast is just as good (just give Robert Downey Jr. the Best Supporting Actor Oscar right now). The sound design, score, and cinematography all work together to elevate what is a very “talky” movie into something so urgent. The script does so much to convey the perils mankind can inflict upon itself, along with the moral, personal, and political complexities that come with the human experience.
In a year full of “important” movies, both for the future of cinema itself and for other cultural reasons, Oppenheimer feels like the most important of the bunch.
Links
For those who don’t know, I am a staff writer for Loud and Clear Reviews and a contributor for Think Christian. Below are some links to some 2023 movies that I had the privilege to review/analyze for both outlets. I have also included a link to my Letterboxd account. Thank you so much for supporting my writing!