The Ninth Annual Miles Awards for Achievement in Film

Awards season is starting to wind down, but it won't be over until the biggest awards of every year. Oscars Schmoscars, I'm talking about the Miles Awards! This is the only awards ceremony that gets it right every year...although I may only be saying that because I exclusively pick all of the nominees and winners. Some of these won't be too surprising if you've already read my list of Best Films of 2023, or Best Performances of 2023, but with 13 categories there is a lot of individual achievement that I'm excited to single out. And now, here are all the nominees and winners at the 9th Annual Miles Awards!

BEST PICTURE:

WINNER: The Boy and the Heron

NOMINEES:  

Kokomo City

Our Father, The Devil

Medusa Deluxe

Past Lives

The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

American Fiction

The Beasts

LOLA

Viking

 

BEST DIRECTOR:

WINNER: Teemu Nikki—The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

NOMINEES:  

Thomas Hardiman—Medusa Deluxe

Ellie Foumbi—Our Father, The Devil

Rodrigo Sorogoyen—The Beasts

D. Smith—Kokomo City

Jonathan Glazer—The Zone of Interest

Celine Song—Past Lives

Andrew Legge—LOLA

Greta Gerwig—Barbie

Roger Ross Williams—Cassandro

 

BEST LEADING ACTOR:

WINNER: Petri Poikolainen as Jaako Järvinen—The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

NOMINEES:

Babetida Sadjo as Marie Cisse—Our Father, The Devil

Gael García Bernal as Saúl Armendáriz/Cassandro—Cassandro

Denis Ménochet as Antoine—The Beasts

Greta Lee as Nora Moon—Past Lives

Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry—May December

Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama—Perfect Days

Emma Stone as Bella Baxter—Poor Things

Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison—American Fiction

Vivian Oparah as Yas—Rye Lane

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

WINNER: Clare Perkins as Cleve—Medusa Deluxe

Catalina Saavedra as Vero—Rotting in the Sun

Souleymane Sy Savane as Father Patrick—Our Father, The Devil

Rossy de Palma as Masilda—Carmen

Rasti Farooq as Mumtaz—Joyland

Ryan Gosling as Ken—Barbie

Marisa Tomei as Katrina Trento—She Came to Me

Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez as Martín—I Have Electric Dreams

Marina Foïs as Olga—The Beasts

Charles Melton as Joe Yoo—May December

 

BEST CHILD ACTOR:

WINNER: Milo Machado-Graner as Daniel Maleski—Anatomy of a Fall

Dohyun Noel Hwang as Dong-Hyun—Riceboy Sleeps

Joe Bird as Riley—Talk to Me

Ladainian Crazy Thunder as Matho—War Pony

Sally Dramé as Vicky Soler—The Five Devils

Haven Lee Harris as Emma—Moon Garden

 

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:

WINNER: Medusa Deluxe (Kae Alexander, Heider Ali, Darrell D’Silva, Nicholas Karimi, Lilit Lesser, Kayla Meikle, Luke Pasqualino, Clare Perkins, Debris Stevenson, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Harriet Webb)

 

NOMINEES:

She Came to Me (Peter Dinklage, Evan Ellison, Chris Gethard, Anne Hathaway, Brian d’Arcy James, Harlow Jane, Joanna Kulig, Marisa Tomei)

 

Past Lives (Greta Lee, John Magaro, Seung Ah Moon, Seung Min Yim, Teo Yoo)

 

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner, Jake Weary)

 

Bottoms (Summer Joy Campbell, Ruby Cruz, Ayo Edebiri, Miles Fowler, Nicholas Galitzine, Kaia Gerber, Punkie Johnson, Havana Rose Liu, Marshawn Lynch, Rachel Sennott, Virginia Tucker, Zamani Wilder)

 

You Hurt My Feelings (Jeannie Berlin, Zach Cherry, David Cross, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Arian Moayed, Amber Tamblyn, Owen Teague, Michaela Watkins)

 

Monster (Sakura Andō, Hinata Hiiragi, Sōya Kurokawa, Eita Nagayama, Shidō Nakamura, Mitsuki Takahata, Yūko Tanaka)

 

May December (Gabriel Chung, Piper Curda, Charles Melton, Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, Cory Michael Smith, Elizabeth Yu)

 

Viking (Fabiola N. Aladin, Marie Brassard, Larissa Corriveau, Hamza Haq, Denis Houle, Steve Laplante, Martin-David Peters)

 

All of Us Strangers (Jamie Bell, Claire Foy, Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott)

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

WINNER: Celine Song—Past Lives

NOMINEES:

Ellie Foumbi—Our Father, The Devil

Hayao Miyazaki—The Boy and the Heron

Nicole Holofcener—You Hurt My Feelings

Samy Burch—May December

Stéphane Lafleur and Éric K. Boulianne—Viking

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

WINNER: Cord Jefferson—American Fiction

NOMINEES:

Tina Satter and James Paul Dallas—Reality

Jonathan Glazer—The Zone of Interest

Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Dave Callaham—Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Tony McNamara—Poor Things

Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio—Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Sari Aaltonen—The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

NOMINEES:

Maria von Hausswolff—Godland

D. Smith—Kokomo City

Robbie Ryan—Medusa Deluxe

Robbie Ryan—Poor Things

Cai Tao—Hidden Blade

Oona Menges—LOLA

Robrecht Heyvaert—Rebel

Cheng Siu-keung—Limbo

Lílis Soares—Mami Wata

 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:

WINNER: Barbie

NOMINEES:

Poor Things

Moon Garden

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Asteroid City

The Zone of Interest

 

BEST SOUND:

WINNER: The Zone of Interest

NOMINEES:

32 Sounds

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Moon Garden

Barbie

LOLA

 

BEST SCORE:

WINNER: Joe Hisaishi—The Boy and the Heron 

NOMINEES:

Daniel Pemberton—Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan—The Pigeon Tunnel

Laura Karpman—American Fiction

L.U.C.—The Peasants 

Branford Marsalis—Rustin

Olivier Arson—The Beasts 

Jerskin Fendrix—Poor Things

Pierre Földes—Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Marcelo Zarvos—Cassandro

 

BEST SCENE:

WINNER: Talk to Me (Mia’s first possession)

NOMINEES:

Rebel (“Gas Attack”)

May December (“Who was in charge?”)

The Beasts (Antoine in the woods)

The Zone of Interest (Hedwig eats breakfast)

She Came to Me (The Story of the Kreplach)

Perfect Days (Feeling Good)

Barbie (Ruth Handler)

All of Us Strangers (The Diner)

Rotting in the Sun (Moving the couch)

 

Congratulations to all winners and nominees!

 

The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic 3 wins, 4 nominations

Medusa Deluxe 2 wins, 5 nominations

The Boy and the Heron 2 wins, 3 nominations

Our Father, The Devil 1 win, 5 nominations

Past Lives 1 win, 5 nominations

The Zone of Interest 1 win, 5 nominations

Barbie 1 win, 5 nominations

American Fiction 1 win, 4 nominations

Talk to Me 1 win, 2 nominations

Anatomy of a Fall 1 win, 1 nomination

The Beasts 6 nominations

May December 5 nominations

Poor Things 5 nominations

LOLA 4 nominations

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 4 nominations

Kokomo City 3 nominations

Viking 3 nominations

Cassandro 3 nominations

She Came to Me 3 nominations

Moon Garden 3 nominations

You Hurt My Feelings 2 nominations

Perfect Days 2 nominations

Rotting in the Sun 2 nominations

All of Us Strangers 2 nominations

Rebel 2 nominations

Rye Lane 1 nomination

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman 1 nomination

Joyland 1 nomination

The Five Devils 1 nomination

Reality 1 nomination

Monster 1 nomination

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves 1 nomination

I Have Electric Dreams 1 nomination

Godland 1 nomination

How to Blow Up a Pipeline 1 nomination

Riceboy Sleeps 1 nomination

Asteroid City 1 nomination

Bottoms 1 nomination

Rustin 1 nomination

Mami Wata 1 nomination

32 Sounds 1 nomination

The Pigeon Tunnel 1 nomination

Hidden Blade 1 nomination

Limbo 1 nomination

Carmen 1 nomination

The Peasants 1 nomination

War Pony 1 nomination

The 100 Best Movie Performances of 2023

After having discussed my 30 favorite films of the year, let's move onto my favorite performances. Each year, I pick 100 different performances that made a particular impression on me. With so many to go through, I don't have the energy to write about every single one, but it's still one of my favorite lists to compile because of the variety of these performances. Some are from movies I loved, some are from movies I liked, some are even from movies I didn't care for. There are leading performances, supporting performances, dramatic performances, comedic performances, and everything in between. Here are my picks for the 100 best movie performances of 2023.

 

100) Luke Pasqualino as Angel—Medusa Deluxe

99) Nicolas Cage as Count Dracule—Renfield

98) Kate McKinnon as “Weird” Barbie—Barbie

97) Issa Rae as Sintara Golden—American Fiction

96) Claire Foy as Mum—All of Us Strangers

95) Sōya Kurokawa as Minato Mugino—Monster

94) Eva Löbau as Friederike Kuhn—The Teacher’s Lounge

93) Léa Drucker as Marie—Incredible but True

92) Ruby Cruz as Hazel Callahan—Bottoms

91) Kayla Meikle as Divine—Medusa Deluxe

90) Brian d’Arcy James as Trey Ruffa—She Came to Me

89) Julianne Nicholson as Janet Matthews—Dream Scenario

88) Ayo Edebiri as Josie—Bottoms

87) Sakura Andō as Saori Mugino—Monster

86) Meredith Hagner as Shelly—Baby Ruby

85) Kiefer Sutherland as Lt. Commander Phillip Francis Queeg—The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

84) Hinata Hiiragi as Yori Hoshikawa—Monster

83) Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery—The Color Purple

82) Megan Mullally as Evelyn Brock—Dicks: The Musical

81) Lily Gladstone as Molly Kyle—Killers of the Flower Moon

80) Ji-Min Park as Freddie Benoit—Return to Seoul

79) Haven Lee Harris as Emma—Moon Garden

78) Anne Hathaway as Patricia Jessup-Lauddem—She Came to Me

77) Larissa Corriveau as “Steven”/Marie Josée—Viking

76) Da’vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb—The Holdovers

75) Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn—Poor Things

74) Stella Gonet as Margaret—El Conde

73) Daryl McCormack as Liam Sommers—The Lesson

72) Sally Dramé as Vicky Soler—The Five Devils

71) Jamie Bell as Dad—All of Us Strangers

70) Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews—Dream Scenario

69) Kayije Kagame as Rama—Saint Omer

68) Ladainian Crazy Thunder as Matho—War Pony

67) Yūko Tanaka as Makiko Fushimi—Monster

66) Michaela Watkins as Sarah—You Hurt My Feelings

65) Heider Ali as Gac—Medusa Deluxe

64) Sandra Hüller as Hedwig Höss—The Zone of Interest

63) Swala Emati as Julia Soler—The Five Devils

62) Leonie Benesch as Carla Nowak—The Teacher’s Lounge

61) Joanna Kulig as Magdalena Szyskowski—She Came to Me

60) Gloria Münchmeyer as Lucía Hiriart—El Conde

59) Ali Junejo as Haider—Joyland

58) Joe Bird as Riley—Talk to Me

57) Jamie Foxx as Willie E. Gary—The Burial

56) Emma Appleton as Thom Hanbury—LOLA

55) Perla De La Rosa as Yocasta—Cassandro

54) Peter Dinklage as Steven Lauddem—She Came to Me

53) Aboubakr Bensaihi as Kamal Wasaki—Rebel

52) Judy Reyes as Celie Morales—Birth/Rebirth

51) Richard E. Grant as J.M. Sinclair—The Lesson

50) Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner—Reality

49) Dohyun Noel Hwang as Dong-Hyun—Riceboy Sleeps

48) Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo—May December

47) Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Ragnar—Godland

46) Stefanie Martini as Mars Hanbury—LOLA

45) Adèle Exarchopoulos as Joanne Soler—The Five Devils

44) Steve Laplante as David—Viking

43) Kate Beckinsale as Christiana Dior—Fool’s Paradise

42) Milo Machado-Graner as Daniel Maleski—Anatomy of a Fall

41) Bukky Bakray as Dione—The Strays

40) David Jonsson as Dom—Rye Lane

39) Sherry Cola as Alice—Shortcomings

38) Chieko Baisho as Mishi Kakutani—Plan 75

37) Julie Delpy as Hélène Sinclair—The Lesson

36) Willem Dafoe as Dr. Godwin Baxter—Poor Things

35) Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Beth Mitchell—You Hurt My Feelings

34) Tobias Menzies as Don Mitchell—You Hurt My Feelings

33) Alina Khan as Biba—Joyland

32) Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin—Rustin

31) Guslagie Malanda as Laurence Coly—Saint Omer

30) Charles Melton as Joe Yoo—May December

29) Marina Foïs as Olga—The Beasts

28) Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez as Martín—I Have Electric Dreams

27) Laure Calamy as Nathalie Cordier—The Origin of Evil

26) Kristine Kujath Thorp as Signe—Sick of Myself

25) Marin Ireland as Dr. Rosaline Casper—Birth/Rebirth

24) Joanna Scanlan as Mary Hussain—After Love

23) Daniela Marín Navarro as Eva—I Have Electric Dreams

22) Choi Seung-yoon as So-Young—Riceboy Sleeps

21) Andrew Scott as Adam—All of Us Strangers

 

20) Sandra Hüller as Sandra Voyter—Anatomy of a Fall

19) Marisa Tomei as Katrina Trento—She Came to Me

18) Ryan Gosling as Ken—Barbie

17) Rasti Farooq as Mumtaz—Joyland

16) Sophie Wilde as Mia—Talk to Me

15) Teo Yoo as Hae Sung—Past Lives

14) Vivian Oparah as Yas—Rye Lane

13) Rossy de Palma as Masilda—Carmen

12) Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison—American Fiction

11) Emma Stone as Bella Baxter—Poor Things

 

10) Souleymane Sy Savane as Father Patrick—Our Father, The Devil

 

9) Kōji Yakusho as Hirayama—Perfect Days

 

8) Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry—May December

 

7) Greta Lee as Nora Moon—Past Lives

 

6) Denis Ménochet as Antoine—The Beasts

 

5) Catalina Saavedra as Vero—Rotting in the Sun

 

4) Gael García Bernal as Saúl Armendáriz/Cassandro—Cassandro

 

3) Babetida Sadjo as Marie Cisse—Our Father, The Devil

 

2) Clare Perkins as Cleve—Medusa Deluxe

 

1) Petri Poikolainen as Jaako Järvinen—The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic

 

Some statistics! We have two actors who appear on the list twice: Sandra Hüller for her two much-acclaimed performances which have garnered her much Oscars buzz, and Nicolas Cage who gave two infinitely more off-beat performances including his ridiculously fun turn as Dracula in Renfield. Several films also make multiple appearances. Medusa Deluxe has a sprawling cast which does great ensemble work across the board, but with much difficulty I was able to single out 4 performers for their individual work. Hirokazu Kore-eda's lovely film Monster also has 4 appearances on this list: it's a film that just missed making my Top 30 of the year. But the top performing film on this list is Rebecca Miller's She Came to Me, which has 5 cast members included here.

 

What was your favorite movie performance of the year? Did it make my list? In what I think is a first for me, all top 10 performances of the year are in films that were in my Top 30 films of the year! In fact, outside of Rossy de Palma's truly magnificent work in the flawed but beautiful adaptation of Carmen, the rest of my top 20 performances are all from that list of favorite films. To read about those films (including further thoughts about why these performances are so great) check out the list here.