Top 10 Films of 2022
I still haven't seen every notable release of 2022, and an extra-busy December means I'm behind on "awards season" viewing. But, as usual, a lot of releases won't make it to our neck of the woods until as late as February, so if we don't get this done now, it will just never happen:
10. Country Gold
In Mickey Reece's new comedy, he stars as the "biggest country star in the world", a Garth Brooks type, who finally gets to meet his own red dirt country idol, but it only further contributes to his imposter syndrome. It hits perfect notes of surrealism and existentialism.
9. Holy Spider
Inspired by a true story of a serial killer in Iran who preyed only on sex workers, and how large parts of society - including the criminal justice system - were basically rooting for him. It's a hard sit, with a cold, procedural atmosphere, but the lengths a woman reporter, Rahimi, goes to bring him down had me consistently on the edge of my seat.
8. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
I didn't think the incredibly simple, heart-warming shorts would translate to a feature-length movie, but they did, with a little help from Isabella Rossellini. Pure chicken soup for the soul, and we deserved it this year.
7. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Not everyone agrees that this multiverse-spanning action-comedy is as mind-blowing as it tries to be, and I'll admit to being the target audience for most of what it's giving (martial arts, gross humor, Jamie Lee Curtis...). But I love how this takes a swing at the meanings of life, love and family, and it entertained me more than most movies this year, on a fraction of the budget.
6. Women Talking
An incredible cast, and the thoughtful, collaborative filmmaking you expect from Sarah Polley allows you to understand each character and that they are not each representing one "side" in this debate, but have their own rich, internal conflicts about it.
5. RRR
No film was more fun for everyone I introduced it to. It is pure cinematic action mythmaking.
4. Nope
From the moment this starts on a very unexpected scene of horror on a TV set in 1998, you realize this is not going to be just a Spielbergian sci-fi horror throwback, but about something deeper and weirder: how hard it is for society as a whole to turn away from things that are obviously exploitative and harmful.
3. The Banshees of Inisherin
A very specific parable about the Irish CIvil War, becomes a very universal human parable through its humor and its melancholy, and most of all the four incredible lead performances who will all win many awards.
2. Small, Slow but Steady
Normally I wouldn't include a film festival selection that might be coming out in 2023, but in this case I'm not sure it will be released in the US. Nothing I saw in 2022 was as enlightening or inspiring as this quiet Japanese drama. The true story of a deaf woman who trained for years to be a professional boxer in Japan uses a simple, verité style to lend tremendous gravity to small, everyday struggles.
1. Decision to Leave
Half mystery, half romance; almost the very definition of noir, but somehow not that at all. Writer/Director Park Chan-wook is at the peak of his powers here. It is an extremely detailed and intricate cinematic construction, but you barely notice it because the story and the characters grab you and never let go.
Special Mentions:
I admired The Fabelmans, Tár, and Aftersun as well, each lingering in my mind well after seeing them, making me work hard for deeper understanding. In a way, there is something even more vital to cinema in that quality of not being easy to digest.