After having already shared my top festival films and horror films, now comes the turn of the best of the everything else. These are the films that released either in cinemas or onto streaming that fall outside of the horror genre.
10. Barbie – Greta Gerwig
My number 10 film is the one I’ve actually watched the most – Barbie. Initially I went on my own and then took Aurora along. Since then we’ve watched it again at home as Aurora loved it. Based on the title alone, there is no way that a live-action Barbie movie should work, and yet it does, really, really well.
Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling the film charts stereotypical Barbie’s journey to the real world and the effect that that has on her, Ken, and Barbieland. Barbie is an incredibly smart, charming, and hilarious analysis of gender dynamics and politics. Hidden amongst all the pink are some highly accurate representations about womanhood; America Ferrera’s speech hits the nail on the head perfectly. The production and costume is insane and filled with nostalgic easter eggs for those that grew up playing with Barbie toys. Now a contender for the awards season, Barbie’s journey is far from over.
9. Past Lives – Celine Song
As a lifelong horror, action, and sci-fi fan, I have never been drawn to traditional romances films. I’m not 100% against them, I just tend to find them a little too saccharine and twee for my tastes. Thank the stars then for Celine Song and her debut feature, Past Lives. The film tells of the reconnection of two friends, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), who lost touch after one of them moved to America as a child. Although they initially reconnect again in their early twenties, the film joins them as fully-fledged adults.
Nora is still living in America and is married to Arthur (Joe Magaro), but when Hae Sung comes to New York on business, the pair take the chance for an overdue reunion. The chemistry and feelings between the two is evident, but rather than this being a typical rom-com that pushes them together, Celine Song focuses instead on the sensation of lost love, longing, and the one that got away. Riddled with pathos and yearning, Past Lives is exceptional work from everyone across the board.
8. The Artifice Girl – Franklin Ritch
A stroke of science-fiction genius, Franklin Ritch’s The Artifice Girl is a commanding analysis of the murky waters that AI development presents. The Artifice Girl plays out during three conversations that span over a long period of time. Events begin with a man called Gareth (Franklin Ritch) sitting inside an interrogation room. He is joined by two strangers, Deena (Sinda Nichols) and Amos (David Girard), and has been called in because of his suspicious online presence. Gareth reveals his intentions are pure and rather than the predator Deen and Amos expect him to be, he is actually trying to be a helpful vigilante. In an effort to combat the war against online groomers, Gareth has created a new computer program known as Cherry (Tatum Matthews), which can almost perfectly mimic the appearance and behaviour of a child.
The concept of Cherry, in practice, sounds brilliant. Cherry is helping remove children from harm and is capable of monitoring and reporting multiple potential perpetrators, far more than the police could ever handle on their own. Gareth’s program is quickly endorsed by the state and scaled up, though only the threesome of Deena, Gareth and Amos, know the full truth. As time passes and Cherry continues to develop, further philosophical discussions are stimulated, the primary one being, how is Cherry’s work impacting her virtual consciousness? One would never place a child into the line of fire that Cherry is in, so why should a super-advanced machine be forced to suffer? Is Cherry capable of feelings? Is it morally right to have her entire existence play out within a world of darkness? The questions and quandaries raised make The Artifice Girl an excellent slice of modern sci-fi.
7. How to Have Sex – Molly Manning Walker
2023 has been a dynamite year for first time feature directors, with six of my top ten films being debuts. Of them, Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex is easily one of the more harrowing. Set within the framework of a boozy holiday in the sun, How to Have Sex joins Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce) and her best friends as they embark on a holiday of clubbing, booze, excess, and sex.
A coming-of-age tale that is uncomfortably authentic, How to Have Sex addresses binge-drinking culture, highlighting just how dangerous it can be. For the sensitive it is worth noting that the film also deals with sexual assault. The portrayal is so horribly close to the experience of many young women that it is difficult to get through. This discomfort is exactly the reason why people should seek out How to Have Sex though (it’s on Mubi). Molly Manning Walker’s movie is open, honest and frank, offering a near-perfect mirror of drinking culture.
6. John Wick 4 – Chad Stahelski
This year the man, the myth, the legend that is John Wick returned for his swan song. Directed by former stunt-man and co-ordinator Chad Stahelski, the John Wick movies have always strived for the highest-calibre of action. In John Wick 4, Stahelski manages to yet again top what has come before. It’s an incredible feat when you factor in the spectacles already achieved in the series. Somehow the director has found yet more ways to reinvent the action sequence and John Wick 4 is the truest definition of an adrenaline-charged thrill-ride. Once the new characters have been established, maximum carnage is thrust onto screen, beginning with a set-piece we’ll dub ‘Escape from Osaka’. The bitter battle has everything: guns, Samurai swords, nunchucks! and highlights the talents of the Wick from the legends. Here he is a machine, methodically battling his way through an army of foes.
Keanu Reeves was born to play John Wick. In many ways, the character’s journey back into the game mirrored that of Keanu’s return to action cinema. Much time is spent applauding the stunt-work of Tom Cruise, the actor having built a reputation for extreme feats, but Reeves is equally worthy of accolades. Reeve’s willingness and dedication to learning all the moves works to make the John Wick films magic. Nothing compares to being able to see, and know, that the events happening on-screen are being performed by the actors themselves. Much as John Wick imitated Reeves’ journey, John Wick 4 is a culmination of the actor’s career. All of his acquired skills are put into practice and the result is an action performance for the ages. An action-led, potentially last, jaunt with everyone’s favourite dog-loving ‘retired’ hitman, John Wick 4 is an epic conclusion to a sensational saga.
5. Fair Play – Chloe Domont
Set in the cutthroat environment of finance, Fair Play dissects the relationship of a young couple, Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) and Emily (Phoebe Dynevor). Introduced in the throws of a wedding reception where they are guests, Luke and Emily are a couple smitten. Their passion for one another is unbridled and the pair exude honeymoon phase. After a passionate bloody encounter, the two become engaged. The next day they get up, get ready, leave the house and go their separate ways, before reconnecting at their place of work. Here they act as practical strangers. This move is vital to their survival as the company has a very strict no-dating policy. After a senior employee is fired, a position opens up, one which Emily overhears that they are going to offer to Luke. The pair prematurely celebrate, with Luke promising to help Emily make it too. However, Emily is the one promoted, and Luke does not take their new arrangement well.
Fair Play is a compelling analysis of gender power dynamics within a relationship. Domont’s sizzling script skewers fragile masculinity beautifully. Luke is an intense bundle of insecurity. Rather than supporting Emily’s promotion, he crumbles. Threatened by her new ‘power’, and his perceived emasculation, Luke becomes a jealous gaslighting child who is determined to do anything to regain the upper hand again. With Fair Play, Domont immediately asserts herself as a talent to watch, complemented perfectly by two storming lead performances. Fair Play is superbly constructed and Domont creates incredible tension of which not a drop is wasted.
4. The Passenger – Carter Smith
Carter Smith is best known for his films within the horror arena, specifically body horror. 2008’s Ruins and last year’s Swallowed proved that he knows how to unsettle a viewer. For his new film, The Passenger, Smith strikes out into new territory. The Passenger explores how trauma can ravage the spirit through two very different men, Randy (Johnny Berchtold) and Benson (Kyle Gallner). The pair work together at a local fast-food chain, ‘Burgers, Burgers, Burgers,’ but after Randy is relentlessly bullied by some of his co-workers, the typically quiet Benson snaps. Benson goes to his car, grabs a gun and systematically murders everyone except Johnny. Keen to not be caught, Benson bundles Johnny into his car and the pair hit the road.
Strip everything else away and The Passenger is a story about two broken young men. The performances of Berchtold and Gallner are beautifully complex. Both of them commit one hundred percent to their characters, Smith allowing them to fully explore all sides of their psyches. Still young in his career, Berchtold is exceptional as Randy. His performance is full of quiet moments that convey the inner turmoil he lives with each and every day. The viewer can feel how trapped he is by his stilted stillness and stiff upright posture. Through proximity to Benson, and being placed into another traumatic scenario, Randy finally starts to come unstuck. The Passenger is his coming-of-age story, with Benson cast as the dark and brooding older brother figure he has previously been denied. At times touching and tender, then terrifying and triggering at others, The Passenger is an emotional roller-coaster, but one worth the ride.
3. The Creator – Gareth Edwards
In 2010, writer and director Gareth Edwards blew away cinema-goers with his haunting science-fiction tale, Monsters. After working on epic blockbusters Rogue One and Godzilla, Edwards this year returned to his more humble sci-fi roots with the phenomenal The Creator. Set in the near future of 2065, The Creator takes place amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence. Ex-special forces agent Joshua Taylor (John David Washington) is pulled back into the fight after new information about his missing wife (Gemma Chan) comes to light. Josh is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with apocalyptic capabilities. His mission is thrown into turmoil however, when the identity of this architect is revealed to be that of a child.
Though the premise sticks close to a generic strand of science-fiction story, Edwards goes hard on emotional content. The Creator may have plenty of moments of action, but all of them are infused with a range of emotions, from grief and hatred, to forgiveness and melancholy. The impact of every action is felt, and has reason. This is not just carnage for the sake of spectacle. James Cameron has been a clear influence of The Creator; the focus on AI and the emotion of the characters is straight out of Cameron’s Terminator playbook. In fact, in so many ways, some too hard to articulate, The Creator feels as though it is a spiritual third Terminator film. An emotional science-fiction juggernaut, The Creator is proof that Edwards is at his absolute peak when allowed to explore his own imagination,
2. Saltburn – Emerald Fennell
In 2020, Emerald Fennell turned heads with the powerful and emotionally-charged revenge thriller that was Promising Young Woman. The movie took the industry and awards season by storm and so expectations are high for her follow-up, Saltburn. Telling the story of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship student at Oxford University, Saltburn is yet another remarkable accomplishment from Fennell. The story begins in 2006 as Oliver arrives at the Oxford University campus. He is immediately drawn to the popular crowd in the courtyard, headed by Felix (Jacob Elordi), but he is too awkward to say anything. He ends up sitting alone with a fellow outsider, Michael (Ewan Mitchell). A chance encounter weeks later sees Oliver accepted into the courtyard group and the young man forever changed. After almost a year of friendship, Oliver is invited to Felix’s summer home, Saltburn, and this is where the real fun begins.
Richly entertaining and extravagantly devious, Saltburn is a tale of twisted depravity that fits right in alongside films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Rules of Attraction, and Cruel Intentions. Fennell has once more crafted lightning into a bottle. The story is complex and cunning, the cast fantastically exuberant, the pace pitch-perfect, and the directing is flawless, which makes Saltburn a decadent and delicious treat to round off 2023 in film.
1.Femme – Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping
For much of the year Fair Play and John Wick 4 were battling it out for the top spot in my end of year list. However September hit and there was a slew of stone cold bangers that arrived and stole my heart. In fact I had to wait all the way until November to see my film of the year – Femme. The feature debut from Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, Femme is a feature adaptation and extension of their short of the same name. It stars Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as drag queen Jules who, months after a vicious attack, finds themself face to face with their attacker, Preston (Andrew MacKay). Seeing an opportunity, Jules begins a plan for vengeance.
Femme is hands down the most intense movie I watched all year. At several points I was unable to breathe and post viewing I had to just sit for about an hour. The performances from Stewart-Jarrett and MacKay are phenomenal and their chemistry on fire. The script balances its darkness and brutality with flashes of tenderness and beauty. Directors Freeman and Ping are also careful to show both sides of the couple. Preston could be a cardboard cut-out bigot, but they instil substantial vulnerability into the character, leaving the viewer genuinely concerned for both characters rather than just Jules. Simply sensational, Femme arrives on digital platforms in January 2024 and should be watched at your earliest opportunity.
Film Disclosure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.