2023 has been a standout year for the film industry. The SAG-AFTRA labor disputes and strikes aside, we’ve been spoiled as far as blockbuster releases are concerned. FromMission: Impossible - Dead ReckoningandWonkato the prevalence ofBarbenheimerandKillers of the Flower Moon, we have seen all manner of flicks grace the silver screen.
With a plethora of brilliant movies premiering this year, there have been numerous performances that have caught the eye for varying reasons. So, let’s take a look at the best dramatic performances of 2023.
12Greta Lee - Past Lives
Not the first feature debut from an exciting young talent to feature in this list, Celine Song’sPast Lives, is a seamless anti-romance movie, with saddening undertones of regret and silent thoughts of what could have been.
Past Lives
Greta Lee Is Breathtaking
The chief performances byGreta Leeand Hae Sung are what makePast Livesreally tick along in harmonious unison. Their fluid on-screen chemistry is, at times, breathtaking and Greta Lee, especially, excels at giving the film such an organic feel. While she mirrors her high school crush’s clear inner yearning to explore every corner of their untapped connection, she conveys this with an emotional maturity that reinforces that friends are all they’ll ever be. Lee’s empathetic sincerity is sure to land her a string of roles in the future.
Rent on Apple TV+
11Franz Rogowski - Passages
This LGBTQ+ entry has been in receipt of an outpouring of critical commendation, and rightly so - it is one of thebest LGBTQ+ movies of the 2020s so far. A movie that follows the story of a gay couple in Paris, who, after a tempestuous bust-up, sees one of them commit adultery, entering into a heterosexual love affair.
A Beautiful LGBTQ+ Representation
Franz Rogowski is a name that may only have been known by few, having frequented mostly domestic filmmaking circles in his native Germany. Yet, in Ira Sachs’Passages, Rogowski really announces himself to the world with his efforts as Tomas, bringing a sensuality and desire to a film that is also tremendously well-written and stunningly shot. Rogowski plays this man who refuses to be defined by his sexuality, breaking down social constructs and his own psyche in the process.
Rent on Apple TV
10Paul Mescal - All of Us Strangers
Paul Mescal’s exponential rise from a complete unknown to global stardom in a matter of years has been inspirational. The affable Irishman, who shot to fame in the miniseries,Normal People,before starring in a host of critically acclaimed indie flicks, is now currently filming Ridley Scott’sGladiator 2.Yet, it is his soul-searching offering in Andrew Haigh’sAll of Us Strangers, that has once again earned him the plaudits from audiences and critics alike.
All of Us Strangers
An Actor on the Rise
The LGBTQ+ drama, adapted from the Japanese novel,Strangers,contains elements of fantasy, and follows the blossoming love between two strangers who live in the same apartment block. While Mescal is reduced to more of a supporting role, his natural mystique and authenticity really help to embolden this daring, ambitious film that engages with the idea of righting wrongs in a bygone era.
All of Us Strangersis currently showing in theaters.
9Natalie Portman - May December
Natalie Portmanassumes the role of Elizabeth Berry in Todd Haynes’ Netflix-backed,May December. The film concerns the story of a couple who built their love and marriage on a mountain of controversy, after the wife, 30-something Gracie (Julianne Moore), falls pregnant having embarked on a forbidden and illegal love affair with a 13-year-old, Joe (Charles Melton). Now living happily together with their grown-up kids, actress Elizabeth comes to the family home to research for her latest role as Gracie for an upcoming movie regarding the scandal.
May December
Portman Shows Off Her Natural Flair
Portman has always been a dexterous hand when it comes to reinventing herself on-screen, fromBlack SwantoAvengers: Endgame, her versatility is there for all to see. InMay December’s instance, Portman oozes a natural flair and potency as this protagonist looking to renovate her image as a washed-up soap star.
Stream on Netflix
8Barry Keoghan - Saltburn
Read Our Review of Saltburn
Emerald Fennell’sSaltburnpremiered at the London Film Festival and proved to be divisive among critics, with some praising it for its heavily stylized composition and central performances, while othersaccused it of being a flagrant rip-off. This drama meets thriller follows the unassuming and timid Oxbridge student, Oliver (Barry Keoghan), who befriends a popular aristocrat, Felix (Jacob Elordi), who invites Oliver to a summer of upper-class living at his family’s countryside estate.
Keoghan Brings His A-Game
This depiction of social class pits Keoghan’s Oliver at the film’s epicenter. TheBanshees of Inisherinstar is in simply scintillating form, deceiving both the characters on-screen and the audience with this shy, butter-wouldn’t-melt facade that soon begins to dramatically unravel. Despite his less-than-convincing Liverpudlian accent, Keoghan brings his A-game, upstaging some of the film’s big-hitters in Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi, and Richard E. Grant.
Saltburnis currently showing in theaters.
7Sandra Hüller - Anatomy of a Fall
Read Our Review of Anatomy of a Fall
Sandra Hüllerpaints an increasingly downtrodden woman in this crime-stroke-drama-stroke-thriller as Sandra, a mother, wife, and widow, accused of the murder of her husband in their idyllic chalet in the picturesque surroundings of the French Alps. Fighting to clear her name and save her son from growing up parentless, this courtroom drama is riveting viewing.
Anatomy of a Fall
A Masterful Performance from Hüller
Hüller is mesmerizing as Sandra, an innocent woman, dealt a cruel hand by circumstance and fate. The German actress is in inspired form as this mother whose life is yanked from underneath her, and is left to protest her innocence, even when the writing appears to be stenciled into the wall with cold-blood. Hüller plays this role with such a deft and masterful touch.
Anatomy of a Fallis currently showing in theaters.
6Bradley Cooper - Maestro
This biopic, starring and directed byBradley Cooper, examines the life of composer Leonard Bernstein, his illustrious career in music, and his tumultuous love life outside of it. This part monochromatic, part polychromatic piece of filmmaking is profound and engrossing in equal measure.
Bradley Cooper’s Best Performance?
His seriously questionable makeup and prosthetics aside, Bradley Cooper’s presentation of this inherently flawed man and icon of the music business is remarkable inMaestro. He offers this perfect distillation of Leonard Bernstein in all his complex, contradictory, and conflicting glory. This is Cooper at the very top of his craft, transporting us back to a time when this enigmatic showman was at the peak of his powers. Cooper really nails the quintessence of Bernstein, whose larger-than-life persona and extraordinary life required a career-defining display, something Cooper delivers with aplomb inone of his best performances.
5Joaquin Phoenix - Napoleon
There are few things one can truly and wholeheartedly expect in life, butJoaquin Phoenixconsistently putting in emphatic showings is certainly one of them. Teaming up with Ridley Scott for the first time since their collaboration forGladiator23 years ago, the pair tackle another historical epic, this time in the form of the life and times of France’s most notorious man, Napoleon Bonaparte. This is certainly one of theHeractor’sfinest theatrical offerings.
Phoenix Impresses in This War Epic
Phoenix plays the aptly named “Little General” inNapoleon, and to quite the effect. Phoenix lifts the myth of Napoleon from the ashes, into this very real, very human, and very tangible man. Despite controversy around historical discrepancies, Scott and Phoenix do exceptionally well at breathing life into the tired misrepresentation of this once great leader. Like you’d expect from Napoleon, Phoenix has this undeniable big-screen aura that just absorbs the audience’s gaze and interest.
Napoleonis currently showing in theaters.
4Jody Comer - The End We Start From
Read Our Review of The End We Start From
This apocalyptic-style drama had a real air of Alejandro G. Inarritu’sChildren of Mento it.The End We Start Fromconcerns itself with a devastating flood in London, that forces millions to flee England’s capital. With a fight or flight instinct colliding head-on with an “everyone for themselves” mentality, carnage ensues, leaving a mother and her newborn baby to fend for themselves in this increasingly volatile terrain.
The End We Start From
A Perfectly Emotional Performance
Jodie Comer’s performance as a mother in hot pursuit of a safe haven for her and her child is utterly spellbinding. She brings a warmth and empathy to the role that pervades throughout this low-budget picture, delivering a performance that personifies the maternal instinct of protecting one’s offspring from the perils of the outside world.
The End We Start Fromis currently showing in theaters.
3Mia McKenna-Bruce - How to Have Sex
Molly Manning-Walker’s directorial debut,How to Have Sex,offered a poignant lessonin consent as it followed 16-year-old, Gemma (Mia McKenna-Bruce) and her two BFFs through their florescent adolescent lens, with the British trio descending on one of the Mediterranean’s many party islands to indulge in copious amounts of alcohol consumption, partying, and debauchery. Mia McKenna-Bruce turns in a career-making display as the film’s titular character.
How to Have Sex
Mia McKenna-Bruce Delivers Amazing Character Depth
There is a multidimensional depth to her performance as Gemma, carefree in theory, but plagued by the usual issues that occupy a mid-teen’s brain. McKenna-Bruce elevates this coming-of-age drama with effortless ease, her facial expressions tell a thousand words, in one of the best face-acting renditions of the year. Bringing a juvenile energy to this film, she transforms herself into this captivating character and one that you can’t help but resonate with.
Coming to Cinemas in America in February 2024
