I think it’s safe to say that 2023 was a pretty good year for movies.
2023 might have been the year of hot strike summer for writers and actors looking for a fair contract, but when it comes to what actually played at the movie theater, plenty of great things happened. Barbenheimer. The return of the sex comedy. New films from the likes of Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese and Hayao Miyazaki. And the best part? Most of the movies were actually good.
I had a hard time narrowing down my top 20 movies of the year list, which is always a great problem to have. Keep scrolling to read about the movies I couldn’t stop thinking about.
20. Theater Camp
I admit this is a bit of a personal pick. But as a not-quite-reformed theater kid, I must stay true to myself. From a black market centered around Throat Coat tea to a genuinely tear-jerking finale, “Theater Camp” captures everything that’s toxic, strange, and wonderful about growing up immersed in this world. If you’ve spent any time on a stage or behind the scenes, it won’t disappoint.
19. The Iron Claw
It was a year for biopics and pretty good ones at that (we’ll get to a couple more in a minute). But no film that held the line “based on a true story” had as much of a beating heart as Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw.” The story of the wrestling Von Erich family is one laden with tragedy, but with the help of some tremendous performances, Durkin finds a place of vulnerability and warmth underneath all of that brutality and artifice.
18. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1
Forget the last action hero – Tom Cruise is the last movie star, and it seems he has no intention of giving up that status any time soon. The newest addition to the “Mission: Impossible” world pits Ethan Hunt against AI itself, keeping the franchise fresh by taking a hard look at both Cruise’s place in the cinematic world and cinematic history more broadly. The result? An emotional, thrilling, slapstick action masterpiece.
17. Passages
Franz Rogowski wears the allure of toxicity – and cute little crop tops – better than most. But in “Passages,” writer/director Ira Sachs puts your tolerance for romantic turmoil to the test. Rogowski’s character finds himself at the center of a love triangle, caught between Ben Whishaw and Adèle Exarchopoulos. Sachs explores the dynamic between these three certified hotties through meticulous blocking and a camera unafraid to hold still while its actors do the work. Through the art of sensuality, “Passages” shows us how easy it is to lose ourselves in toxicity of our own making.
16. The Killer
What happens when a control freak loses control? In “The Killer,” David Fincher’s unnamed assassin misses a mark and goes on the run, inadvertently leaving behind all of his preconceived notions about the importance of routine and clinical perfectionism – no matter what he might tell us in voiceover. While The Killer himself is most definitely worse at his job than he thinks he is, Fincher is decidedly not as he gives us one of his most personal stories in years.
15. Bottoms
As the world gets more ridiculous, satire becomes increasingly more difficult to achieve. “Bottoms” isn’t perfect, but it gets pretty close. In a world where phrases like “step on me” indicate strong desire, “Bottoms” takes that idea and runs with it, violence and sex almost interchangeable in its lexicon. Through that idea, director Emma Seligman attempts to decode the structures that define young women’s relationships to sex and the world around them – all while delivering a campy, outlandish good time.
14. Oppenheimer
There’s certainly much to be said for the entertainment factor of the first two hours of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which encompasses the whirlwind lead up to the Trinity test, culminating in a jaw-dropping feat of filmmaking. But the more I watch the film, the more I’m interested in its last hour, where Lewis Strauss’s (Robert Downey Jr.) petty grievances come to light, and where a room full of bureaucrats try to pin down who, exactly, J. Robert Oppenheimer was. I’ve seen many point to “Oppenheimer” as another Nolan attempt to dig into the psyche of a tortured, complex man. While there’s plenty of that to be found, what makes “Oppenheimer’ that much more interesting is how he also points to the futility of that particular endeavor.
13. Monster
When “Monster” begins, director Hirokazu Kore-eda throws you so deeply into the perspective of single mother Saori Mugino (Sakura Andō) that the effect is a little off-putting. Saori’s son has accused his teacher of hitting him, and her confrontation with the school’s administration over that accusation is equal parts confusing and frustrating. But then the story expands, deftly blending three different perspectives of the same event. Kore-eda tells a coming-of-age story through the lens of the word “monster” and its meaning, his empathetic touch elevating a type of story that all too often falls into cliched territory.
12. Sanctuary
Break ups can be nasty, but in Zachary Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” they can get a little kinky too. “Sanctuary” stars Christopher Abbott as the heir apparent to a large company, poised to take over as CEO. But before he does, he needs to tie up some loose ends; in this case, that means breaking things off with his dominatrix (Margaret Qualley). A chamber piece that somehow makes you tense up, laugh and cringe all at the same time, “Sanctuary” is a blast from start to finish and a wonderful showcase for both actors.
11. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Judy Blume’s novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” was published back in 1970. More than 50 years later, Blume’s story of a young girl facing the trials and tribulations of growing up remains as resonant as ever. The masterstroke of Kelly Fremon Craig’s 2023 adaptation is how seamlessly it weaves Margaret’s story with her mother Barbara’s (a luminous Rachel McAdams), ruminating on all of the stages of womanhood with a sincere, funny, and empathetic point of view.
10. Past Lives
Looking back over the past few years, I’m hard-pressed to name a better feature debut that Celine Song’s “Past Lives.” Through the story of childhood friends reunited, Song takes an intensely personal look at both the paths we take and the ones we don’t. Equal parts heart-wrenching and thrillingly romantic, the film overflows with feeling, seeping into your bones until it reaches a final crescendo that will leave you reeling.
9. The Boy and the Heron
Hayao Miyazaki has spent his life creating fantastical worlds for children, his movies full of rich themes that are always more rewarding on second viewing. “The Boy and the Heron” feels like a culmination of everything he’s made thus far, thrusting the viewer headfirst into adventure as a boy named Mahito Maki searches for his mother. Of all Miyazaki’s films, “The Boy and the Heron” might be most deserving of multiple viewings – there is so much going on, and the film moves with such a swiftness that it can be difficult to find something to hold onto at times. But if you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded with that devastatingly beautiful ending.
8. May December
Loosely inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau story, “May December” stars Natalie Portman as Elizabeth, an actress starring in a movie about Gracie (Julianne Moore), a woman who began a romantic relationship with – and later married and had children with – a 13-year old named Joe when she was 36. Elizabeth travels to Savannah, Ga. to spend time with Gracie and the now 36-year-old Joe (Charles Melton) before production, beginning a series of events that are as funny as they are uncomfortable, and as uncomfortable as they are deeply sad. With “May December,” director Todd Haynes and writer Samy Burch obliterate the whole idea of true crime and tabloid obsession. As Joe, a hulking shell of a human being, Melton is one to watch.
7. All of Us Strangers
Andrew Scott has a way of smiling in “All of Us Strangers” that I found intensely heartbreaking. Scott stars as Adam, a writer living in London who one night strikes up a romance with his neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal). Soon after, he encounters the ghosts of his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) in his childhood home and begins visiting with them. Adam is a character who has never quite opened up about the pain he feels – has never really met someone who cared to ask him about it – and his smile reflects a resignation to loneliness. But Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” urges us to not resign ourselves to that fate, instead lightly pushing us towards connection no matter the cost.
6. Barbie
When “Barbie” came out this summer, the adoration was instantaneous. But along with that adoration, there was a desire to somehow overlay every single tenet of feminism onto this one movie – an always fruitless task, in my opinion. If you look at “Barbie” that way – look at any movie that remotely has anything to do with women that way – you’re bound to find flaws. But isn’t that kind of what “Barbie” is about? One woman – or one woman’s vision, in this case – can’t represent everyone perfectly. I don’t think moviemaking should be about trying to do that, but rather about finding your specific voice. And I have always loved Greta Gerwig’s hysterical, unique, and crystal clear voice.
5. Killers of the Flower Moon
At the risk of spoiling Martin Scorsese’s excellent “Killers of the Flower Moon,” since the last time I saw it I’ve been thinking almost exclusively about the film’s coda. In a normal historical epic, you might get some text on a screen, telling you what happened to each character as the credits roll. But Scorsese takes a different approach to the story of Mollie Burkhart and the murder spree that decimated the Osage people in 1920. His approach is a staunch reminder of not only the brutal reality of what happened, but a reminder of how violence against people of color is often repackaged and resold by white people as entertainment. Scorsese is not unaware of his own role in that system, and this coda somehow holds all of these truths at once – a recognition of the movie’s limitations mixed with a hope that we can do better.
4. Showing Up
With films such as “First Cow” and “Meek’s Cutoff” under her belt, Kelly Reichardt might be one of the most undersung and important American filmmakers of her generation. “Showing Up” is a little slighter, a little funnier, but just as poignant. Reichardt’s film takes long, lingering looks at all aspects of art and craft, not least of all the painstaking process of creation. But it also strives to find a connection between the effort you put into your art and that you put into your life, and where the line between them lies.
3. Priscilla
For Christmas, a friend gifted me “Sofia Coppola Archive: 1999-2023,” a book that chronicles the writer/director’s work over the past two decades in painstaking detail. As I rifled through its pages, it became clear to me that detail is what makes a Sofia Coppola movie – and “Priscilla” is no exception. Every costume piece, every prop, every eyelash has been wrought with the utmost precision and care. When exploring the relationship between Priscilla and Elvis Presley, Coppola wrangles that detail into genuine sensitivity, telling Priscilla’s story with care for everyone involved – even Elvis himself.
2. Maestro
“Maestro” is not your average biopic – so much so that the critiques I’ve seen labeling it as such, or as nothing but Oscar bait, confuse me to no end. Bradley Cooper’s take on the the life of Leonard Bernstein (played by Cooper) rarely strays outside of the relationship between he and his wife, Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan). It doesn’t delve into his childhood, or explore in detail the stories behind his most famous projects. You probably won’t walk away from “Maestro” with much more of an understanding of all of that than you had before. But you might walk away from it with a deeper understanding of marriage, of love, of someone struggling to accept their sexuality. You might walk away from it with a deeper understanding of the undying tension between celebrity and creation. And you might, after watching Cooper as Bernstein lose himself in the music as he conducts Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, walk away with a deeper understanding of art itself.
1. Asteroid City
In a year where everyone with a TikTok account thought they could recreate the magic of the Wes Anderson aesthetic, it seems fitting that he released one of his best films yet. 2023 found Anderson operating at the peak of his stylistic power, but all that style does not mean – and has never meant – that his films lack substance. In “Asteroid City,” perhaps more so than usual, Anderson uses that style to dig into ideas about parenthood, about art, and about that creeping anxiety that we’re not doing this whole life thing correctly. In one scene, someone asks a playwright what his play is about. “It’s about infinity,” he says. “And I don’t know what else.” It’s the not knowing that’s interesting – the fact that none of us really knows what we’re doing or why, but we continue on anyway.