‘Oppenheimer’ tops among best films of 2023
Another year has come and gone at area cineplexes, and it was a transformative 12 months, with movie fans coaxed out of their post-COVID funk by two unstoppable blockbusters, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” The pair, forever known as Barbenheimer, was the talk of the summer, finally luring record crowds back to theaters and silencing predictions that movie-watching would never be the same after screens went black in March 2020.
If not for Barbenheimer, we’d likely still be talking about an industry on life support, given how dismally the summer season began, with normally lucrative tentpoles, “Indiana Jones” and “Mission: Impossible,” failing to turn a profit. But then July 21st arrived with “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opening side by side, with many film fanatics opting to see them back-to-back in a single day. Suddenly, it was safe to head back to the movies.
But just as the revival was gaining strength, the members of the Screen Actors Guild went on strike, halting film and TV production as well as nixing all promotional tours for many 2023 Oscar contenders. Lucky for theater owners, the walkout had little effect on attendance. Still, the numbers weren’t anywhere close to the pre-COVID years, but it was a hopeful return to normal, with movies once again being seen the way they are meant to be: On a giant screen with hundreds of others sharing in the experience.
Will that revival extend into 2024? Only time will tell. But it’s hard not to be optimistic. And if Hollywood continues to produce films as good as the 10 I’ve selected as the best of 2023, all will be well. Which 10 films are they, you ask? Well, check them out, and note that three of them have strong Boston ties.
1, Oppenheimer: It was impossible to ignore a film that so consistently pushed the boundaries of how far modern cinema can take you. Be it acting, special effects, cinematography, or sound, the visionary Christopher Nolan turned the biopic on its head with an arsenal of “wow” moments in telling the sobering tale of a real-life Dr. Frankenstein who created a monster he could no longer control once his atomic bomb was unleashed on Japan. But Nolan’s masterpiece would not be nearly as great without a superb Cillian Murphy going to the limit in fleshing out J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American war hero whose pacifism made him an enemy of hawkish U.S. politicians itching to rule the world.
2, American Fiction: In his impressive debut as a writer-director, Cord Jefferson had much to say on the subject of ethnicity, enlisting a never-better Jeffery Wright as his eloquent mouthpiece in uncorking righteous frustration over how minority artists are expected to grovel and pander to straight, white America’s preconceptions of gender and race. Abetted by an all-star cast and gorgeous South Shore locations, Jefferson skillfully employed humor in issuing a humble plea for us all to get serious about equality.
3, The Holdovers: Alexander Payne triumphantly returned to form with a heart-tugging dramedy that was also a bit of a comeback for his “Sideways” star, Paul Giamatti. Set during winter break at a New England prep school, David Hemingson’s Oscar-worthy script used a crack combination of humor and heart in extolling the importance of family whether or not members share the same DNA. Anchoring the assemblage was likely Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph as a grieving mother who finds salvation in watching over a lonely, supercilious teacher (Giamatti) and his least favorite pupil (Dominic Sessa) as they embark on a two-week adventure in which love and improbable friendships unfold against a lovely Boston backdrop. It was easily my favorite Christmas gift.
4, Anatomy of a Fall: Presumptive Oscar-nominee Sandra Hüller was a tour de force as a recent widow standing accused of murdering her whiny, self-loathing husband (Samuel Theis) during a fit of justified anger. But did she push him off a third-story perch? Or, did he jump? Those are the haunting questions lingering over writer-director Justine Triet’s study of gravity and its effects on a relationship collapsing in full public view. Not only was her Cannes Film Festival winner a revealing study of unholy matrimony, it was an equally fascinating primer on a French legal system that seems more intent on promoting hearsay and spectacle than truth. Did I love it? Guilty as charged.
5, Past Lives: Writer-director Celine Song’s debut feature brought enchantment back into theaters with her lovely, wrenching tale of how love and fate don’t always mix. Deeply indebted to a marvelous breakout performance by “Russian Doll’s” Greta Lee, Song’s transcontinental romance chronicled a 20-year glimpse into the divergent lives of Nora (Lee), and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two Koreans whose budding adolescent attraction is abruptly curtailed when Nora’s family moves to Canada. Thanks to social media, they reconnect a decade later via Zoom, yet it’s evident a great distance exists between them, culturally and physically. Will they ever get together? That’s for you to find out. And believe me, you’ll want to because this isn’t just another predictable rom-com. It’s a lovely, deeply insightful examination of paths not traveled and the heartbreak that can result.
6, Perfect Days: There’s a reason Kôji Yakusho took home the top acting prize at May’s Cannes Film Festival and it’s stirringly on display in one of the best character studies you’ll ever witness. Reminiscent of the stars of the silent era, Yakusho rarely utters a word as the camera follows his Hirayama through his unbending daily routine of work and leisure. It almost doesn’t matter that Hirayama cleans toilets for a living. It certainly doesn’t to him. And that’s the hidden beauty in director Wim Wenders’ lovely reminder that it isn’t what you do in life that makes it worth living. It’s the little pleasures you derive from just being alive, whether it’s a brilliant sun filtering through the tree leaves or evocative tunes sung by Patti Smith and Lou Reed. Hirayama embraces every second of it. As this stellar tale suggests, so should we.
7, Barbie: If there were any doubts that Greta Gerwig is among the best filmmakers on the planet, they were quickly erased by her hilarious and profound use of a doll’s fabulous life to make relevant points about gender equality. Co-written with her life partner Noah Baumbach, Gerwig established her brilliance at the very start with her clever cribbing from Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and then went even deeper by dispatching the superficial Barbie (a pitch-perfect Margot Robbie) to the real world, where she discovered people were far more plastic than her. What ensued was a burst of imagination grounded in reality, as Barbie, and we, learn what it takes to be not just a woman, but an advocate in a land where men hold entirely too much power, an injustice she ingeniously seeks to correct. Take that, Ken!
8, Robot Dreams: Let inane trifle like Spider-Man and his convoluted multiverse grab all the publicity, I’ll take Pablo Berger’s animated tale of loneliness and longing any day. In many ways, the inventive Spaniard has created a companion piece to “Past Lives” with the story of a friendless dog whose desperate need for companionship inspires him to order a robot pal who quickly becomes his soulmate. But, as in “Past Lives,” fate steps in and pierces Dog’s fragile heart. Will he ever see Robot again? And will things ever be like they were? The answers are as hilarious as they are harrowing, as Berger builds toward an ending so real, so moving, you’ll never forget it.
9, Air: Local boy, Ben Affleck, isn’t getting near the amount of year-end love that he deserves from peers and critics for his inspired execution of Alex Convery’s script depicting how the iconic Air Jordan athletic shoe came to be. Nor is his star and best pal, Matt Damon, who delivered his best work in years as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro, who almost single-handedly worked to convince a remote Michael Jordan and his dubious parents that his company’s shoes would best represent the future hall-of-famer. Damon was sensational, as was Viola Davis as Jordan’s more-cunning-than-meets-the-eye Mama, and Chris Messina as Michael’s angsty, fast-talking agent. A slam dunk all around.
10, It Ain’t Over: Even Yankees haters had to admit they loved Sean Mullen’s impeccable deconstruction of the great Yogi Berra. Athlete, war hero, father and husband, Yogi did it all in a life well lived on and off the field. Mullen’s telling of Yogi’s storybook life was funny, inspiring, and most of all, truly moving. It was the ideal posthumous tribute to an icon who, as the movie pointed out, wasn’t always given his due. “It Ain’t Over” went a long way in making amends, with its extensive exploration of all facets of Berra’s remarkable 90 too-short years. Whether on the field, in the dugout, on the tube, or on the beaches of Normandy, Berra left an indelible mark on our history, our culture and our collective consciousness. And it’s one we won’t soon forget.
Not far behind: “Flora and Son”; “Monster”; “The Teachers’ Lounge”; “Fair Play”; “The Zone of Interest”; “The Starling Girl”; “Cassandro”; “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”; “Dreamin Wild.”
