List of 2023
NOT everything I’d seen for the year but everything that I think deserves to be noted, for good or bad. More mainstream than I’d like but — life happens. I do try to note films available but not newly released in 2023, and why I thought them worth talking about.
The Boy and the Heron — perhaps Miyazaki’s final film, done with economy and passion and a surfeit of fabulous imagery.
Killers of the Flower Moon — Less a depiction of the Native American victims (which I suspect Scorsese couldn’t presume to speak up for) than a blackly comic takedown of the thugs that preyed on them. At its emotional heart: the strange strangely moving Judas-Jesus relationship between Ernest Burkhart (a deftly dimwitted Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Osage wife Mollie (an understated Lily Gladstone).
Essential Truths of the Lake — Lav Diaz’s first-ever prequel follows the early adventures of Hermes Papauran, the “Philippines’ greatest investigator” — basically a detective with a philosophical bent and a gift for guilt-wracked obsessive brooding. He never lets go and neither does Diaz, in this latest meditation on the Marcos dictatorship.
May December — Todd Haynes’ unsettling look at tabloid narratives (in this case the Mary Kay Letourneau story) and the secrets they may or may not contain.
Asteroid City — Wes Anderson doesn’t indulge in the usual film bro cliches — guns and assassins and fast cars — but takes off in a trajectory all his own. The immersion in 1950s Space Age paraphernalia makes this a perfect double feature with Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½
Infinity Pool — Brandon Cronenberg eschews his father’s clean pornographic style to do a more baroque version of John Frankenheimer’s Seconds, the true source of horror less the fleshy onscreen mutilations and more Mia Goth’s mesmerizing hold over Alexander Skarsgard.
Past Lives — Celine Song’s debut feature is quiet but graceful; the finale, an extended tracking shot along an East Village sidewalk, is unexpectedly potent.
The Holdovers — Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti’s latest isn’t visually distinctive but does evoke lowkey emotional magic, and delivers the occasional sting.
The Killer — David Fincher at his more elliptical, more a sterile exercise of style and stylish performances than anything. Not quite Jean-Pierre Melville, master of the genre, but not bad either.
Silent Night — Man loses his son and his voice, takes a year to prepare for payback. Grimmer less stylish John Woo that nevertheless retains his spark.
Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet’s legal drama with the help of Sandra Huller slowly carefully compellingly assembles the portrait of a marriage that has slid sideways, throws enough uncertainty into the process that like a juror you’re not sure what verdict to deliver.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — James Gunn’s darkest entry of the franchise, yet still manages to be laugh out loud funny. Gunn has a gift for depicting damaged characters, makes good use of that skill here.