Sometimes a film endures in the minds of the audience because of a single scene, one that is so triumphant, heartbreaking, or downright ludicrous that it sticks in the heads of millions of people long after they leave the theater.
Movies like Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” certainly have scenes like that, as do all the films that make the “Best Films of the Year” lists that pop up as New Year’s Eve approaches. But for our list of the most memorable movie scenes of 2023, we tried to go beyond just the movies that got the biggest praise, and highlighted some from films that might not have topped the charts or got the biggest reviews, but left a huge impression on us nonetheless.
Check out our picks below:
“Oppenheimer” — Trinity
Whether they bought a ticket as a Christopher Nolan fan or a “Barbie” lover excited for a double feature, millions of people knew that the centerpiece of “Oppenheimer” would be the fateful moment when J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project team performed the first successful atomic bomb explosion.
That scene absolutely delivered, a symphony of Nolan’s tense direction and writing, Ludwig Goransson’s dramatic score, Jennifer Lame’s tight editing, and the ensemble cast showing just how much was on the line with this test. A failed test could mean that the Potsdam peace conference plays out differently, the U.S. falls behind on the atomic race, and World War II takes an entirely different turn.
But it was successful, and the sound cuts to pure silence as Oppenheimer watches the towering fireball, recreated practically by Nolan and his team. Cillian Murphy says the famous line…”I Am Become Death”…and a horrific boom rumbles through the theater, hailing the arrival of the Atomic Age and the constant threat of annihilation that humanity has placed itself under ever since. JF
“Killers of the Flower Moon” — The Radio Epilogue
Any film based on historical events could wrap up with some simple title cards explaining what happened to the characters after the events of the story, but Martin Scorsese isn’t interested in ending his epic drama on the murders of the Osage in such a conventional way.
In the final scene of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” we flash forward to a live broadcast of a true crime radio show in 1932 that is doing its own recounting of the trials and tribulations of Mollie Kyle at the hands of her one-time husband Ernest Burkhart and his murderous uncle, William Hale. It’s a wink to how the true crime podcasts that are all the rage on Spotify trace their roots to the earliest days of radio, and also a nod to the fact that the Osage murders only reached public awareness because they became the subject of such a radio show created by J. Edgar Hoover to boost the public image of the still-nascent FBI.
It’s Scorsese’s acknowledgement that the stories and suffering of American Indians are often told by white voices, including his own. At the movie’s end, Scorsese himself reads out Mollie Kyle’s obituary and notes that there was no mention of the murders of her family. He then cuts to the final shot of the Osage dancing and singing, a final attempt by a legendary filmmaker to direct an audience whose interest in the film came from his reputation to listen to voices who have to fight to be heard. JF
“M3GAN” – The Meme Dance
This choice is completely unoriginal as the “M3GAN” dance has been a viral meme since the first trailer debuted. And, yet, it still sells what makes “M3GAN” one of the most fun movie-going experiences this year: it is crazy as hell and it just does not care. Watching the actress/CGI hybrid that is M3GAN dance in an office building before ripping off the blade of a paper cutter to use as a makeshift kitana? Priceless!! It blends the horror elements perfectly with Akela Cooper’s script. It’s perfect. -KL
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – “His Name is Miles Morales”
Everyone who has seen “Across the Spider-Verse” will have their favorite scene, but there might not ever be an opening scene in an animated movie that makes a more stunning first impression than Gwen Stacy’s mindscape. With wild splashes of color, Daniel Pemberton’s drum-heavy soundtrack, and Hailee Steinfeld’s pained monologue, “Spider-Verse” shows flashing images of Miles and Gwen’s past as well as glimpses of what is to come in the next chapter of their story.
It’s the sort of wild artistic creativity one might expect from an Annecy festival short rather than a Hollywood comic book movie, but “Spider-Verse” pushes the envelope with every second of its screentime, showing just how spectacular this version of the webslinger can be. – JF
“May December” – Graduation Day
Todd Haynes’ “May December” doesn’t go in for easy answers and that comes through best in Charles Melton’s fantastic final scene. The movie follows Melton’s Joe and his wife, Gracie (Julianne Moore) whose lives are invaded by an actress named Elizabeth (Natalie Portman). Elizabeth is there to get clarity on the couple’s life for a TV movie focused on their relationship; Gracie met Joe when he was a child. But for all the tabloid interest in Gracie and Joe’s relationship, what stands out is Melton’s performance as a man grappling with questions of grooming and how he moves on with his life as he ages.
At the end, he watches his two children graduate from high school and Melton’s face is a cascade of emotion. Is he grief-stricken at what he’s lost? Jealous that his son will have the life he should have? Relief that his child was not victimized? It’s really all of it. More than anything, Melton’s Joe is the character that “May December” is truly about, how a child of grooming grows to adulthood and grapples with the choices that were taken from him. Give the man an Oscar! –KL
“Past Lives” – The long walk home
Celine Song’s quiet drama is one of gentle introspection, a tale of a Korean immigrant, Nora, reflecting on the twists and turns in her life that led her into the arms of her loving American husband Arthur and separated her from her childhood friend, Hae Sung. She speaks in Korean to Hae Sung in front of Arthur about what might have happened if she had never left Korea, but there is no jealousy as unfulfilled love is expressed, only acceptance between the trio for who they are and where fate has led them.
Yet Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur still can’t help but imagine what their alternate lives would have been like, and when Nora and Hae Sung finally say goodbye, Greta Lee ends her performance as Nora with a heartbreaking one-shot of her returning to the apartment, tears welling up in her eyes before she finally breaks down in Arthur’s arms. It’s a moment where, after years of focusing on her future, Nora finally allows herself to say goodbye to her child self and to the friend she never got closure with. JF
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” – The Dog Days are Over
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has promised a story that will never end. Mid-credit and post-credit scenes always tease what is going to happen next, raising questions that will all be answered if you just wait a few months and buy a ticket to the next movie.
That promise of no endings defines modern Hollywood blockbusters, but “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” should remind both fans and studios alike that there’s value in bringing a story to an end. And James Gunn doesn’t just give us an ending for his ragtag team of intergalactic heroes…he gives them the happiest ending ever.
Despite the bittersweet sight of seeing Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, and the whole gang go their separate ways after seeing them fly through the cosmos for the past nine years, Gunn lets our final glimpses of them be a moving reminder that these heroes, who were bitter and alone when we first met them in 2014, have transformed each other into the best versions of themselves.
That is especially true for Gunn’s beloved Rocket Raccoon, who survived years torture and painful loss by building a prickly demeanor that armors him against a world that sees him as a freak. He ends this tale as the leader of the Guardians, dancing and howling with joy with a community that accepts him for who he is. The MCU vows to move forward even with lost audience goodwill and declining box office numbers, but Gunn’s final dance party, perhaps more so than “Avengers: Endgame,” is about as perfect a final chapter as anyone could ask for. – JF
“Saltburn” – “Murder on the Dancefloor”
This might just be my favorite movie of the last five years just in terms of pure audaciousness and fun. Much of Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” plays as a dark comedy akin to the Ealing comedy “Kind Hearts and Coronets.” By the third act Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) has just killed off the last member of the Catton family and ended up with the titled manor to do whatever he wants. And what does he do? He decides to dance nude through his newfound domain to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s dancehall classic.
Even Keoghan himself was surprised at what a great dancer he is in the scene! It’s not even the nudity that’s the focus, but just the pure confidence Oliver has trodding on the hallowed halls of the rich. As the middle class kid who spent his entire life trying to fit in, there’s a fitting “screw the rich” vibe to him entering the hall and, with a final sigh, looking at the Catton puppet show – found in his room at the beginning of the film – and realizing he’s won. But, remember, when Alexander saw the breath of his domain he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer. Fennell leaves us with one final question of: what does Oliver do now? Dance it out, I guess. -Kristen Lopez
“Barbie” – “I’m Just Ken”
It’s the song you can’t get out of your head, the performance you can’t stop talking about, and the “Kenergy” puns you can’t stop using. Ryan Gosling’s show-stealing musical number at the climax of “Barbie” has left audiences worldwide screaming with laughter with its goofy fight scene and dream ballet, and according to Greta Gerwig, it was almost cut out by Warner Bros. had she not fought tooth and nail for it.
And beneath the pure comic brilliance of the scene, there’s a bit of poignance as well, as Ken laments how his life has been reduced to his desire for the love of a Barbie that will never love him back. His despairing questions of whether he is destined to “live and die a life of blonde fragility” like all the other Kens in Barbieland mirrors the way so many women have felt pigeonholed in our patriarchal reality, and how both he and Barbie yearn for so much more.
“Leave the World Behind” – Reuniting with “Friends”
There’s a lot happening in Sam Esmail’s “Leave the World Behind.” Pamphlets raining from the sky, deer congregating en masse, not-so-casual racism. But the one constant in the film is young Rosie’s (Farrah Mackenzie) obsession with finding out what happens to Ross and Rachel at the end of “Friends.” The Gen Zer has been watching the series up until the power goes out, leading to her parents going mad with questions about whether the world is ending.
But Rose just wants her own way to leave the world behind, to find some source of comfort and stability in a world that, quite literally, has fallen into chaos. So when she runs away and find a neighboring house, the camera leaves her family to follow her in. Because the neighborhood they’re in is filled with wealthy people, there’s a panic room fully stocked and powered via generator. And, wouldn’t you know? There’s a TV and a wealth of TV show box sets….including “Friends.” The final scene of the movie is just Rosie’s face, powering up the TV to hear that iconic “Friends” theme song. In a movie that’s spent over two hours making you anxious and dreading the future, it’s nice to find comfort in the nostalgic glow of the past. -KL
“Cocaine Bear” – The Ambulance
“Cocaine Bear” was such pure insanity right out the gate and yet it’s never left my mind! For me, the moment it all came together was when the titular cocaine bear starts attacking an ambulance. What follows is a high-octane car chase between ambulance and bear that’s impeccably filmed by cinematographer John Guleserian. What makes it even funnier is all the activity that is happening as the ambulance is racing down the street and the bear is chasing it. The bear, at one point, jumps into the back of the ambulance! It all culminates with poor Margo Martindale’s park ranger character, strapped to a gurney, being thrown out of the ambulance and meeting her demise. Sometimes it’s not the cocaine bear that kills you but the seatbelts that keep you tied to a stretcher! -KL
“The Zone of Interest” — Descending Into Darkness
If you’ll forgive invoking a line from a video game when writing about one of the most harrowing films about the Holocaust seen in years, the final moments of “The Zone of Interest” call to mind a line from “Undertale”: “You felt your sins crawling on your back.”
That line came to mind as Rudolf Höss, Nazi commandant of Auschwitz, leaves a party celebrating a successful operation named after him that transferred thousands of Hungarian Jews to the concentration camp to be killed, and for which Höss will be rewarded by being transferred back to Auschwitz to live with his family… and to carry out the extermination.
In dead silence, Höss, played by Christian Friedel, stops as he descends a staircase and bends over to try to vomit, but can’t make anything come out no matter how hard he retches. He can feel his sins crawling on his back.
To twist the knife even further, director Jonathan Glazer cuts to footage of janitors cleaning Auschwitz in the present day, vacuums humming over exhibits of the shoes left behind by thousands of Jews executed from 1939 to 1945.
In real life, Höss was executed for his crimes after the war, confessing to his role in the Holocaust and praying to God for forgiveness in a written statement just before his hanging. In the film, we see a glimpse of that smothered conscience in Höss as he retches, before he composes himself and descends the staircase into a literal … and moral … darkness he can never come back from. — JF
“Godzilla Minus One” — The Battle Begins
There are plenty of iconic theme scores in film history, from James Bond to “Back to the Future” to all the ones John Williams has composed over the years. Perhaps one that hasn’t gotten the respect it deserves, at least from American audiences, is Akira Ikufube’s intense, cello-driven theme to the 1954 film “Godzilla.”
But nearly 70 years later, “Godzilla Minus One” may give that theme the moment on the global stage it deserves. Acclaimed around the world as a sci-fi masterpiece that belongs alongside the film that started cinema’s oldest franchise, “Godzilla Minus One” takes extra care with how it uses Ikufube’s music. We don’t hear the infamous horns and gongs heralding Godzilla’s destruction until his terrorizing of Ginza is well underway, and it is only when the Japanese Navy vets begin their desperate plan to slay Godzilla that we hear Naoki Sato’s new, modern take on the theme, giving the final battle the epic urgency that it deserves.
The Best Movies of 2023