It’s 2023, and movies are finally back. Hollywood has at last reached the point where the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are barely felt, and the ensuing bounty of film has resulted in one of the best years for the movies in recent memory. This was the year of the Barbenheimer craze that occupied our collective consciousness over the summer months, the year of features ranging from the nostalgic and personal to the unsettling, the harrowing, and the deeply, fantastically odd.
I find that these past two years have been integral to my growing appreciation of cinema and what it has to offer in its emotional aspects. My top ten films of 2023 consist of movies that have crushed my spirit, inspired me, and disgusted me. These movies are special not just for this, but also for their visual appeal, expertly crafted screenplays, and impeccable direction. They are, in my opinion, some of the best that cinema has to offer this year and ones that have stayed in my mind long after leaving the theater. Before I get into this, I should mention a few films I loved for various reasons that did not make this list.
“History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset.”
― David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI