Top 10 Films of 2023

This morning, we did the Top 10 films of 2023 (that aren't from 2023), the films I saw for the first time from previous years.  Now, though, we'll be tackling the list of films still in the zeitgeist, the ones in some cases still in theaters (SEE THEM-SUPPORT QUALITY CINEMA!)...my Top 10 films of 2023 from 2023!  These are listed alphabetically, and I'd love to hear yours in the comments if you're willing to share.  Enjoy!

Afire

dir. Christian Petzold

Petzold remains one of our freshest & most introspective filmmakers, and with Afire he continues his quest to make challenging, provocative cinema.  This is much pricklier than Transit or Undine, and it'd be easy to be turned off by Thomas Schubert's great turn as our unlikeable protagonist, but beneath that is a lot of looks at our ability to process happiness for others, and how our own insecurities can eat up our lives. 

All of Us Strangers

dir. Andrew Haigh

Haigh understand loneliness better than any other filmmaker working, and he brings that to All of Us Strangers, a romantic ghost story, one that shows us the cruelty of how love doesn't last forever because people don't last forever...but in the process, also shows us the meaning of life.  The entire acting quartet, led by Andrew Scott, is staggering (this is the film that should've swept the acting nominations).

Bottoms

dir. Emma Seligman

The most I can remember laughing in a movie theater in ages, the lead pair of Rachel Sennott & Ayo Edebiri are dynamite, which you probably already know if you've been watching them emerge into acting powerhouses the past couple of years.  The way that it throws some truly fantastical curveballs into the third act (where you're wondering what it is you're exactly seeing) is a treat for even the most jaded of film-watcher.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

dir. Francis Lawrence

If you told me this time last year the Hunger Games (a movie series I hadn't even finished until this year I got so bored) would have an entry alongside Scorsese, Coppola, & Glazer on my year-end Top 10, I would've thought you'd gone mad.  Proof that greatness can come from anywhere (and that we should expect more from legacy sequels) this is a perfectly-constructed, thoughtful action romance, led with movie star turns from Tom Blyth & Rachel Zegler.  Every song is a gem.

Killers of the Flower Moon

dir. Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese continues to play in a league of his own, doesn't he?  Another 3+ hour epic from him that flies by, the movie gives us rich sound & cinematography, and shares challenging work from both Lily Gladstone & Robert de Niro, one showing what she can do, the other showing why he was the greatest of his generation.  If only Thelma had managed to cut Brendan Fraser from it, we'd be home free.

May December

dir. Todd Haynes

A movie that continually changes what it is about, and plays previous scenes differently with each passing moment, this is a nasty peak into celebrity culture, and how we value entertainment more than the damage it can cause ordinary people.  It's not surprising that Oscar didn't respond to Haynes totally going after Hollywood's obsession with itself, but don't worry-Hollywood hated Sunset Boulevard, this film's spiritual sister, at first too.

Of an Age

dir. Goran Stolevski

This is kind of from 2022, but it was released in 2023 in the states so I'm counting it for this year.  There's no way I was leaving out a movie this lovely, a gay coming-of-age film that shows how key moments of your life last longer in your memory than whole years of time, with Thom Green & Elias Anton's thoughtful dialogue & chemistry enriching the experience.

Priscilla

dir. Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola's latest take on femininity gives us one of the 20th Century's most indeterminate women.  How do you make a film about Priscilla Presley, someone who most dismiss as just the pretty face behind the most famous man on earth?  Coppola does it by showing us two splendid performances from Cailee Spaeny & Jacob Elordi, and showing us how even Priscilla had to come to terms with not knowing who she was...until finally she at least knew what she wasn't.

Saltburn

dir. Emerald Fennell

The most divisive movie of 2023 (some people not only hate it, but want to force you to hate it too), I was engrossed by Emerald Fennell's latest take on moneyed revenge.  The mess is kind of the point here-the decadence, the way that we quickly make assumptions & have then have them upended...they all come together for us to only understand the movie in the final moments, with a brilliant Barry Keoghan committing "Murder on the Dance Floor" to our memories forever.

The Zone of Interest

dir. Jonathan Glazer

Jonathan Glazer's first film in a decade, Zone of Interest was always going to come with high expectations after his marvelous Under the Skin.  That it's somehow even better shows that the wait was worth it.  I had heard the sound design was something else here, but I still wasn't prepared for how good it would be, aiding the story, and showing the banality of evil (and how so many people learn to look past it to create a false sense of normalcy).