The best movie performances of 2023

26.12.2023 - 17:01 / polygon.com / William Friedkin / Lance Reddick / Best

There are a lot of ways to judge a great performance. In 2023, as in every year, some of the year’s best movies were quirky, colorful, boundary-pushing challenges to the cinematic status quo, and some were low-key, emotionally intense stories, either tracking the lives of famous historical figures or just trying to evoke the pains of real life. Our list of the best performances of the year honors both extremes: outsized performances that tickled and surprised us, and realistic ones that made us forget we were watching a performance. Here are our favorites among the many great performances we saw in movies in 2023.

These are some of the more traditional dramatic roles on this year’s roster: Character work that felt moving and real, and that touched us in some way.

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a movie designed for strong performances. It all takes place in the course of one trial, mostly in a single room with a small cast and plenty of monologues. Humphrey Bogart, Eric Bogosian, and others have excelled in previous adaptations of the story, and this time, Jason Clarke and Kiefer Sutherland play the two main roles.

But the late Lance Reddick controls the movie from a relatively minor role, as head judge Captain Blakely. He brings an instant air of authority and fairness to the proceedings, asking probing questions and giving great consideration to the evidence laid out in front of him. It’s an excellent reminder of how skilled Reddick was, no matter the size of the role. He and director William Friedkin will be missed. —Pete Volk

Five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams followed up her mesmerizing performance in The Fabelmans with a stark juxtaposition in Showing Up. In the former, Williams was the light and life of every room as Mitzi Fabelman. In the latter, she’s the dour, cynical sculptor Lizzy, beaten down by the realities of the art world.

One of the great joys of following an actor over the course of their career is seeing that versatility and transformation from role to role. No one embodied that more this year than Williams. It’s a powerhouse performance, and one that could not possibly be more different than her role in The Fabelmans. —PV

One of the most brilliant parts of Greta Lee’s performance in Past Lives is also the subtlest. The tone of her voice shifts between English and Korean, a little effect that stemmed from Lee’s own way of speaking Korean. Like her character Nora, Lee emigrated when she was a child, so her Korean sounds very rudimentary, and she emphasizes that difference, all while seamlessly shifting between languages. It’s such a little detail, but one that really cements Nora’s character and her relationship with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) as a part of her past, a part of her