My Top Ten Films of 2023

Fallen Leaves

This was the best year in films since….I’m not exactly sure. A long time. It might be the best year of the current century. I had a deuce of a time picking between three GREAT films for the number one spot (Three great films in one year!). As you’ll note there’s a gap between three and four but that’s no slight on the rest of the top ten. Any of the first six would have been worthy of the top spot in a “normal” year. Eight films were well worthy of being in the top four and at least thirteen were top ten worthy. My faith in the film industry is -- at least temporarily -- restored. 

1. Fallen Leaves (Kaurismäki)

2. Godland (Pálmason)

3. Oppenheimer (Nolan) 

4. May December (Haynes)

5. Afire (Petzold)

6. Poor Things (Lanthimos)

7. Fair Play (Domont)

8. Showing Up (Reichardt)

9. The Holdovers (Payne)

10. Past Lives (Song) 

Honorable Mention: Killers of the Flower Moon (Scorsese), Asteroid City (Anderson), Bottoms (Seligman), Dream Scenario (Borgli), Barbie (Gerwig), Anatomy of a Fall (Triet). 

Best Actor: Colman Domingo (Rustin) Runners Up — 

Alden Ehrenreich (Fair Play), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Paul Giamatti (Holdovers).

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan (Maestro) Runners up - Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves) and Natalie Portman (May December).

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer). Runners Up — Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) and Ingvar Sigurdsson (Godland)

Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) Runners Up — Juliane Moore (May December) and Jodie Foster (Nyad)