RD top 10 films of the year 2023

2023 has been a tumultuous year for film, with the writers and actors’ strike looming over significant part of it, nevertheless moviegoing audiences were graced with several brilliant films. With everything from action to drama and everything in between, the year has films that have drawn critical praise across the board, here are a few we’d recommend.

Director Christopher Nolan once again wowed audiences with his latest film in Oppenheimer, centred around the famous scientist who paved the way for the existence of the atomic bomb. It’s a biopic that’s told both objectively and subjectively as referenced by Nolan, looking back on what actually happened and also looking back on things that happened in a way that Oppenheimer may have seen them unfolding.

With US military interests at the time conflicting with Oppenheimer’s sensibility, resulting in him being hounded for links to the US communist party and his apparent desire for pacifism, this makes for an intriguing dichotomy of science and politics. With both helping each other substantially in wartime in resources, funding and ideas but often at the expense of individuals who may have contributed to the war effort after the war’s over.

With a lengthy runtime and touchy subject material, Nolan and Cillian Murphy in the titular role helped to convey the inner turmoil and struggle Oppenheimer ironically caused for himself with his brilliant mind. Murphy is supported by a brilliant cast with many familiar faces, including Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Josh Hartnett and Emily blunt to name just a few, all playing people that had important relations to the real Oppenheimer in one form or another. Just remember to prepare yourself for a raucous, big closing scene in a way only Nolan can seem to compile.

How do you make Barbie into a movie? Director Greta Gerwig had the possibly unenviable task, but being ever imaginative, she managed to bring it to life with co-writer Noah Baumbach and the star-studded Barbie movie is the result. What we get is a dreamlike story depicting Barbie as a living being in the fictional Barbie land, also living with Ken dolls, expanding on that premise with a lot of fun twists, turns and heartfelt messages.

It’s blunt, undeniably silly but surprisingly funny, with references galore and a few musical numbers—with great pacing to both keep you engaged and to keep the story moving along.

Margot Robbie takes centre stage as ‘traditional Barbie’ with a very sincere performance, while Ryan Gosling flexes his comedic chops and steals a a few scenes as Ken, unofficial leader of the Ken doll characters. Barbie was comically paired with Oppenheimer to function as a double feature in the summer, but fully stands on its own as one of the more fun movie going experiences of year.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 culminates Marvel’s Guardians trilogy with a lot of emotion, a few send offs and as expected in the series, another killer retro soundtrack. Vol 3 continues director James Gunn’s comedic and space faring adventures with team leader Starlord, facing up against a menacing and unrelenting villain in the scene stealing High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) in a bid to save the galaxy and one of their own team.

But importantly the MCU’s favourite dysfunctional family is back with a bang, with some new faces in the mix too—what follows is a another memorable, fun and touching adventure put together in a way none other than James Gunn can.

We learned in school about obtuse concepts like “manifest destiny” and American expansionism west in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the horrific treatment of Native Americans as a result, but legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s new film Killers of the Flower Moon shines a light on just how insidious, ruthless, racist and greedy these white settlers were. Despite the Osage tribe in Oklahoma becoming incredibly wealthy after striking oil on their reservation, cattle baron (and seemingly friend of the Osage) William “King” Hale (Robert De Niro) and his nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio)—looking for money and a new life after the First World War—are patiently plotting to enrich themselves by any means necessary. 

 With King encouraging Ernest’s interest in Osage woman Mollie (Lily Gladstone) and her “headrights” to oil deposits, their marriage opens up the possibility of the pair taking control. Mollie cleverly observes, “coyote wants money” about Ernest, but still falls in love with him, which horrifyingly leads to the unfolding destruction of her family. Based on the true story of the 1920s Osage Indian murders, the killings are emotionless and brutal, as almost all the white men in Fairfax (an ever-increasing number as the town grows and changes) are trying to marry and steal their way to a fortune.  

Relief comes in the form of the arrival of Tom White (Jesse Plemons), a BOI agent (the original name for the FBI), who is sent from Washington DC “to see about these murders”, sending King and Ernest into a panic. “Evil surrounds my heart”, Mollie laments. She’s right, as events unsettlingly build. Parallels are drawn in the film between the horrible events in Fairfax and the 1921 burning and race massacre in Tulsa, known as the “Black Wall Street” by a white mob, and it’s an apt and unnerving comparison. 

DiCaprio and De Niro play their most despicable villains since Django Unchained and Cape Fear respectively, while Gladstone is truly mesmerising. A bleak historical crime drama and sweeping Western epic, like a somehow darker There Will Be Blood, this is not only Scorsese’s finest and most harrowing film in years, it’s an important picture that will leave you reflecting on it long after you’ve left the cinema.  

The Philippou brothers’ feature debut Talk To Me is the film you wish could have been traumatising your friends with at your childhood sleepovers. Disturbing videos of demonic possessions at parties are making the rounds on Snapchat and Mia (Sophie Wilde) wants in. Morbid curiosity or perhaps just plain old fear of missing out have her convincing her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) to attend one of these seances.  

At the centre of it all: an embalmed hand which promises to offer a glimpse to the other side. Touching the hand and saying the magic words, “Talk to me,” allows spirits to take your body for a joyride. 

The adrenaline of the possessions and the spectacle of it all, shared as it is on social media, keep the kids coming back again and again to toe the line between life and death. A possession montage in the first half of the film captures the nervous energy of being a teen at a party where it feels like anything could happen, and then, as they always do, things go too far.  Soon the spirit world starts to bleed into the natural world, with devastating consequences. Just as the line between life and death is blurred, so is the line between protagonist and antagonist as Mia begins to spiral in her attempts to undo the damage. 

The Philippou brothers deftly portray the teenage thrill of doing something you’re not supposed to and the allure of being part of a group without slipping into Gan-Z caricature. Thanks to unsettling sound design, convincing special effects and a stellar cast, tension keeps building until it bubbles over into a conclusion that is just the right amount of depressing.  

It’s not a perfect film—not all of the characters are fully fleshed out, and some of the themes feel a little half-baked. But with strong performances across the board and an atmosphere that gets progressively bleaker, it’s an unrelenting ride that haunts you long after the credits roll. 

The Australian queen of cinema Cate Blanchett dazzles and terrifies in equal measure as the fictitious conductor Lydia Tár in this note-perfect, moody psychodrama. A former piano prodigy who’s won numerous awards, written books and became the first woman conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Tár is at the peak of her career. She’s a spiky alpha female whom everyone addresses as “maestro”; she’s a manipulative and evasive partner to her wife, Sharon, yet at the same time, she’s incredibly seductive, whip-smart and wryly hilarious—qualities that many a student of hers has fallen prey to.  

As she faces blackmail from one of her former protégés and tries to navigate her fascination with a recent addition to the orchestra—a charmingly blunt Russian cellist Olga—she grows deeper and deeper out of touch with herself.  

The film is a wonderfully stylish, ominous affair. Drenched in pale, neutral hues, and featuring the darkly expressive score by Oscar winner Hildur Guðnadóttir (whom Tár mentions as one of her female composer heroes at one point in the film), it’s restrained, sexy, unnerving, and totally absorbed by the intimidating yet utterly fascinating world of classical music it inhabits. It comes as no surprise that Cate Blanchett won the Best Actress prize at last year’s Venice Film Festival for playing this baffling enigma of a person that we’re inclined to dislike, yet can’t help but bask in the steely light of her company. 

The acclaimed director of The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson, is back with another meticulously manicured meta-universe. Think of it as a story about a 1950s-era teleplay. In black-and-white, we see behind the scenes as playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) frets about his creation and various actors (Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson) live out their own backstage dramas.  

In longer, colour segments, we get Earp’s play ‘Asteroid City’, all set in the titular desert town where families have gathered for a Junior Stargazing contest. Among them, Schwartzman’s war photographer/father-of-four Augie Steenbeck, who is dealing with the death of his wife. Living opposite him in the local motel is Midge Campbell (Johansson), a diva of the screen who has brought her only child to Asteroid City. 

Anderson’s ensemble is huge here – Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Jeff Goldblum, Matt Dillon and many more all appear. But somehow he and co-writer Roman Coppola weave them all into a tragi-comic story that deals with loss and ‘otherness’, which comes after the town’s inhabitants all witness an alien arrival. Like the most stylised B movie you’ll ever see, Anderson’s film has a sunny disposition – aside from the occasional atom bomb test in the background. But, hidden away, you’ll find touching emotional depths. 

Lily James and Shazad Latif star in what initially seems like a typical rom-com off the assembly line of rom-coms: Zoe (played by James) is an aspiring documentary filmmaker looking for her next big project. An independent young woman, she’s constantly dodging her mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson whose character deserves a spinoff of her own) efforts at playing cupid as well as numerous weird guys she meets on dating apps.  

When her childhood friend Kazim (Latif) announces that he’s planning to enter an arranged marriage (or “assisted” as he insists they call it these days), Zoe is gobsmacked. What if they don’t share any interests? What if his Indian bride doesn’t want to move to London? Most importantly, what about love? Despite her reservations, she cajoles Kazim into letting her travel to Lahore for the wedding and document this unusual union.  

Light-hearted fare on the surface, What’s Love Got to Do With It? proves to be a multifaceted story that tackles the subject of love and companionship with nuance and flair, asking all the difficult questions that fairytale love stories tend to suppress with the “happily ever after”. Jemima Khan’s fabulous script is a thorough and compelling labour of love, the product of many years of rewrites and rumination, that deftly balances emotional fragility with impish cheek. The result is a story that elevates and fortifies the rom-com genre—just ask the roomful of watery-eyed film critics.  

Focusing on three intense, life-changing months in the life of Italian motoring pioneer Enzo Ferrari, Michael’s Mann’s biopic is a typically captivating work from the legendary director of Manhunter and Heat. A film Mann has spent years brewing on, it sees a silver-haired Adam Driver play Ferrari, while a combustible Penélope Cruz features as his wife Laura. The year is 1957, with the business he and Laura established a decade earlier in Modena about to implode.

As he decides to enter the Mille Miglia, a 1500km endurance race, his marriage is also heading for the pits, with the discovery that he has a mistress (Shailene Woodley) and a son. The fiery domestic scenes between Driver and Cruz are to be savoured, but Ferrari really hits top gear during the race scenes. With Patrick Dempsey and Jack O’Connell co-starring as daredevil drivers on the track, Mann ably shows the precarious, life-threatening nature of motorsport and the burning passion that comes with it. Aside from reprising the questionable Italian accent he deployed in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, Driver elegantly captures Ferrari’s ruthless streak as both a businessman (“make them make the mistake”) and husband. Ultimately, though, it’s Cruz who you’ll remember.

A remote fishing village on the wild and windswept Irish coast forms the perfect backdrop for this tense family drama. The story centres on Aileen (Emily Watson), whose son Brian (Paul Mescal) has returned home after several years away. There are few bounds to her motherly love: she steals the resources he needs to revive the abandoned family oyster farm, and things take a darker turn when an allegation is made against him and she lies for him in court. 

The village’s tight-knit community is haunted by acts of violence that ripple through the generations. Few are shown onscreen, a conscious choice by directors Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, and one that offers an insight into Aileen’s willingness to lie for her son. She sees the version of Brian that he presents her with, and she cannot fathom what he might be capable of just outside of her line of sight.  

In its slower moments, mesmerising performances from Emily Watson and Paul Mescal keep the story afloat. Aisling Franciosi also shines, bringing both sensitivity and strength to the role of Sarah, Aileen’s coworker and Brian’s accuser. A haunting score by award-winning composers Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans heightens the tension throughout. 

The setting evokes a sense of a claustrophobic community held captive by dangerous tides, where the stakes of holding someone you love to account feel so much higher. Ultimately, God’s Creatures asks, when the person who means the most to you returns home after years apart, what can you turn a blind eye to? 

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