It’s that time again! As I did last year, it’s time to award movies and performances that I think were the best of the best in 2023. If you want a refresher, here was the post I made two months ago about my top films of 2023. There hasn’t been a lot of change to that list aside from The Zone of Interest, which I would now have in the top 10. Similarly here was my recent post about why each movie should or shouldn’t win Best Picture. I think it’s a nice refresher as awards season winds down. And if you’re curious how this went last year, that can be found here!
Nominations I have in common with the Oscars will be in bold.
Let’s get to it.
Best Picture
In my mind being a Best Picture isn’t exactly the same as just being the best movie. With this award I try to think of something with real impact that, ideally, also reflects something about the movie year. As such, here are the nominations.
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
- Fallen Leaves
- The Holdovers
- The Iron Claw
- May December
- Passages
- Past Lives
- Priscilla
- The Zone of Interest
This is a really tough call. It might recency bias, but I’m going to go with The Zone of Interest. This film is such an incredible technical work in terms of the combination of sound and image. It’s a haunting film, one that gets under your skin, and the message is timely for 2023-2024. It lays bare just how easy it is to slide into extreme fascism solely by keeping up appearances. Some years this would have strong Oscar chances, but it will likely have to settle for my award instead (more prestigious, if you ask me).
Best Director
For Best Director, I’m thinking of who executed their artistic vision the best (while also making a good movie). I’m also thinking about who left their distinctive stamp on the movie.
- Kelly Fremon Craig, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
- Wes Anderson, Asteroid City
- Ari Aster, Beau is Afraid
- Emma Seligman, Bottoms
- Todd Haynes, May December
- Sofia Coppola, Priscilla
The winner here is Todd Haynes by a decent margin. In most other hands, May December would either collapse or be a disastrous film. Haynes has a careful grasp of the material, perfectly playing the notes of melodrama and satire to make the whole film click as one of 2023’s best. Similarly, Haynes gets the performances he needs out of his actors to really make the material work. He’s had an illustrious career, but May December still needs to rank among his top accomplishments.
Best Lead Actors
As I put it last year: “The gender binary is a stupid way to organize the world, so rather than give you the best “actor” and “actress” (in quotes because everyone is an actor!), here are my picks for the 7 best lead performances of the year, and then the three top performances that I would name as winners. What I consider lead versus supporting is totally arbitrary, so look at the supporting nominees, too, before raging at my egregious omissions.”
- Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
- Alma Pöysti, Fallen Leaves
- Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
- Zac Efron, The Iron Claw
- Natalie Portman, May December
- Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla
- Franz Rogowski, Passages
It wasn’t a year where I was really wowed with performances, so I only have 7 nominees for Lead Actors, but it’s a strong bunch. My first award goes to Hüller for Anatomy of a Fall. She has a heavy lift in this movie as she’s a dominant force on screen nearly all the time. Her performance really makes the film work and, frankly, she should be running away with the Oscar race, too.
The second spot I have to give to Spaeny for Priscilla. This is the most stunned I’ve been by a breakout performance in many years. Her role is a subtle one, largely conveyed through body language, and Spaeny delivers in every frame. I really thought she had a chance of getting the Oscar nomination, but fate wasn’t with Priscilla as it was with Elvis last year…
Finally, I have to go with Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers. He’s made a lot of great movies over the years and delivered a lot of great performances, but this feels like the strongest work he’s turned in. His character is at once an outlandish near-caricature of a stuffy teacher and deeply human individual struggling with change. It’s incredible work that really takes the film from good to great.
Best Supporting Actors
- Rachel McAdams, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
- Glenn Howerton, BlackBerry
- Ayo Edebiri, Bottoms
- Jussi Vatanen, Fallen Leaves
- Julianne Moore, May December
- Charles Melton, May December
- Adele Exarchopoulos, Passages
- Jacob Elordi, Priscilla
- Jimmy Tatro, Theater Camp
- Tobias Menzies, You Hurt My Feelings
- Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest
I have 11, and I’m not cutting it down. Because it was a very strong year for supporting performances. I usually don’t have a hierarchy to these acting categories, but I have no problem saying that my top award goes to Edebiri in Bottoms. I think she gives one of the greatest comedy performances of all time. She’s the emotional and structural core of the film’s satiric bite. She delivers most of the best lines, the best expressions, and the best moments. She helps the film not be merely great but be one of the top films of the year in my opinion. An easy winner.
On the dramatic side, it’s just as easy to name Charles Melton for his pheromonal work in May December. He really holds that movie together, giving it a human core that the melodrama and satire can operate around. I was absolutely shocked that he didn’t get an Oscar nomination. It’s one of the greatest snubs I can recall, and one of the strongest supporting performances of the decade so far, hands down.
Cailee Spaeny’s costar gets the final award as Jacob Elordi’s performance as Elvis is absolutely incredible. He brings a steely menace to the role that the film requires, but he does it without sacrificing the sexy charm of Elvis. He’s not so monstrous that we wonder why Priscilla would ever fall for him (or forget that this is Elvis) but he’s not in any way gentle or meek. He’s The King, and it’s a performance a hundred times better than Austin Butler in Elvis back in 2022.
If there were a fourth award, it would go to Rachael McAdams. It’s career-best work from her, but the field was a crowded one this year.
Best Original Screenplay
I don’t particularly care about the Academy rules for what constitutes original and adapted screenplay.
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Asteroid City
- Barbie
- Bottoms
- May December
- Past Lives
I have to nominate Barbie in this category. That screenplay was just amazing. But the award goes to May December for all the reasons I’ve been saying so far. This is a really strong category that could be a five-way tie for all I care.
Best Adapted Screenplay
There are really only two movies I want to mention here: Priscilla and Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. The award goes to the latter for what is clearly one of the best book-to-movie adaptations of all time. The soul of the book is present in every bit of that movie without feeling like anything was forced to make the film work. It’s brilliant work and frankly disgusting that it wasn’t recognized at the Oscars.
Best Animated Feature
- Elemental
- Nimona
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
- Suzume
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
It was a strong year for animation, but I give this one to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem by quite a margin. All really great movies to be sure, but that was easily the best in my opinion. And it’s the best turtles movie yet.
Best International Film
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Fallen Leaves
- Godzilla Minus One
- Passages
- The Zone of Interest
These are all top-20 movies from last year, and I haven’t even had the chance to see the other ones nominated for the Oscar. The winner is Anatomy of a Fall, but I beg you to go watch all of these incredible films.
A few other odds and ends. The Best Song award goes to Theater Camp for “Camp Isn’t Home.” The Best Use of a Song award goes to “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” from The Iron Claw, narrowly edging out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” from Bottoms. Best Editing is a tie between Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, and Best Cinematography is a tie between Past Lives and Fallen Leaves.
A Full Recap of the Awards
Best Picture: The Zone of Interest
Best Director: Todd Haynes, May December
Best Actors: Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Best Supporting Actors: Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms), Charles Melton (May December), Jacob Elordi (Priscilla)
Best Original Screenplay: May December
Best Adapted Screenplay: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Best Animated Feature: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Best International Film: Anatomy of a Fall
Best Song: “Camp Isn’t Home,” Theater Camp
Best Us of a Song: “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” The Iron Claw
Best Editing: Anatomy of a Fall AND The Zone of Interest
Best Cinematography: Past Lives AND Fallen Leaves
This year we had 12 categories and gave out 18 awards to 12 different movies. Passages was nominated 4 times but didn’t win any awards.
That about closes the book on 2023. I think the academy really dropped the ball this year and forgot a lot of very good movies and overlooked nearly every good supporting performance. While I can see some merits of Oppenheimer, I really don’t think Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon, or American Fiction have much place in this awards cycle (and also Maestro, which was so much of an afterthought, it never crossed my mind the entire time I was writing this).The Academy further gave acting nomination spots to movies like Nyad, Rustin and Maestro that should have gone to better movies. Here’s hoping they do better next year. But whether they do or not, I’ll still be here, talking about whatever movie and media related topics come to mind. Thank you for reading, and here’s hoping 2024 can turn things around from a rough start!
