It was a very good year for the movies, and there were some legitimate surprises among the Best Picture nominees. However, as usual, my taste varies from the Academy's quite a bit and the frontrunners may not be where you expect them in my rankings. There's a notable lack of traditional Oscar bait this time around, however, which I appreciate. From best to least, here are the Best Picture nominees of 2023, ranked.
1. The Holdovers - I've had to stop myself from calling this a throwback, because it's really not. You could make current day films like "The Holdovers," about average people going about their daily lives and making the best of bad situations. Alexander Payne has made several others. But this is a Christmas film. And it's a found family film. And it's got Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph giving performances that are all-timers. And in so many other ways, this one is special.
2. The Zone of Interest - I'm stunned that this was nominated, because this isn't typical Oscar fare at all. Despite the British director, this is a very European art film that is completely different from the usual Holocaust narrative. It's practically a photo negative, focusing on the experiences of Nazis as they try to compartmentalize the horrors of literally existing next to a death camp. On the other hand, the subject matter is not only timely, but completely relevant to the state of the world right now.
3. Anatomy of a Fall - Courtroom dramas can be tricky things, especially the ones with ambiguous outcomes. This one clicked for me when I realized the film was about the whole family unit, not just the central couple, and we weren't here just to solve a typical mystery. The thoughtful ending plays out beautifully. The argument sequence is also magnificent filmmaking, not just for the tour de force performances, but because of how it's built up and deployed within the story itself.
4. Poor Things - This was kind of the movie I was hoping "Barbie" would be, but of course never could be. Yorgos Lanthimos is back for a female "Frankenstein" fairy tale, told as only he and Tony McNamara could tell it. It won me over the moment the black and white switched to color, and I realized that it was doing a "Wizard of Oz" homage with the big moment of discovery being the heroine's first go at sexual intercourse. I have a feeling this is one of those films I'm going to like more the more that I watch it.
5. Killers of the Flower Moon - Have you ever felt guilty that you don't like a movie more than you do? Martin Scorsese does everything right here. DeNiro and DiCaprio play despicable men so well, and the plight of the Osage tribe is a dark chapter of history that I'm so happy is getting some attention. However, I'd have much rather gotten this project as a miniseries instead of a lengthy feature. The film totally exhausted me by the end, as touching and beautifully made as it was.
6. Oppenheimer - I feel this is the movie that Christopher Nolan has spent his whole career building up to, and while it magnifies all of his greatest strengths, it magnifies all of his weaknesses too. I spent most of the running time playing spot the familiar face, and never got all that invested in the subject of the film. There are some beautifully orchestrated sequences, some fine performances, and I don't feel that my time was wasted, but I was never convinced the film was as epic as its production.
7. Barbie - I appreciate "Barbie," but there was so much cultural baggage around the film that it was difficult for me to evaluate it on its own terms. In the end, I think it has many highs and a few lows, makes lots of interesting points about gender relations, and yet isn't nearly as incisive or smart as I wanted it to be. However, it gets a lot of points for being a whole lot of fun. Margot Robbie is a treasure, but Ryan Gosling as Ken is perhaps the comedic performance of the decade.
8. American Fiction - This is going to sound terrible, but I'm so glad this made it into the race and not "The Color Purple." "American Fiction" is as tired of African American struggle narratives as I am, and is trying something new. I really admire the creative impulse behind the film, and the willingness to try something out of the box, even if the end result is often messy and inconclusive. Unlike most viewers, I like the personal side of the story more, though the satire is very enjoyable.
9. Past Lives - I keep forgetting this got nominated for Best Picture, and frankly that's not a good sign. I'm one of those people who just couldn't connect with the film. I appreciate all that it's saying about immigrant narratives and diverging life paths, but when it comes down to it, I didn't care about these people and their relationships. I may just be at the wrong point in my life for it, or in the wrong state of mind, because I want more intimate films like this. Just not this particular film.
10. Maestro - This is a perfectly good film, but it's a film about someone who only seems to be a famous composer and conductor by coincidence. Bernstein may have been an unfaithful, closeted, substance abuser in a marriage of convenience, but it confounds me to no end that Bradley Cooper had so little interest in depicting Bernstein's career and relationship to music - the things that actually made him famous. I don't think "Maestro" works as a Bernstein biopic without this.
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