The Best Movies Of 2022

Steven Soderbergh taps into a distinctly pandemic-era paranoia in this high-tech Rear Window, with Zoë Kravitz playing an agoraphobic tech worker who hears an assault while going through recordings from a virtual assistant. The premise might be clumsy in anyone else’s care, but Soderbergh’s tight cinematography and Kravitz’s quiet electricity strike exactly the right notes, demonstrating just how much privacy and security have changed in a short time.



 

In an era when the movie-musical genre has embraced its extravagant, theatrical roots, director Joe Wright’s take on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play doesn’t disappoint. Featuring a career-best performance by Peter Dinklage, Cyrano tells a tale of yearning and heartache, soundtracked by brooding indie-folk heroes The National.

Ever since Robert Pattinson’s turn in the Batsuit was first announced, fans and critics have been wondering what new themes the superhero franchise possibly had left to explore. But director Matt Reeves’s brutal noir spin on the story, showcasing a hero who’s a hair’s breadth away from becoming a villain, turns out to be a refreshing take, as well as a mirror to our current political climate.

Writer-director Kogonada’s vision of the future is filled with meditations on life as expansive and lush as the film’s gorgeous cinematography. As parents Jake and Kyra (Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith) set out to repair their android son, Yang (Justin H. Min), they discover that the line between human and AI doesn’t matter as much as the question of what it means to be human, to have a heritage, or to truly live.



 

You could say Fresh starts with a date from hell, if director Mimi Cave and writer Lauryn Kahn didn’t up the ante 30 minutes in, revealing the real nature of the man our protagonist (Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones) has fallen for. In this gruesome send-up of the “meat market” of modern dating, Cave constructs a horrific tale bolstered by Sebastian Stan's perfect villainous turn.



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In her first film after her Oscar-winning short, Bao, writer-director Domee Shi tells the tale of a 13-year-old fangirl going through an extreme version of puberty while also dealing with familial pressures. The movie offers the typical Pixar magic from a fresh perspective, managing to feel both universal and specific at the same time.

Writer-director duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert cram tons of absurd details into this multiversal action-comedy, from sex toy-shaped trophies to a Ratatouille subplot starring a dexterous raccoon. At the center of everything is a heartfelt story about the strength of love and family when confronting existential dread, led by brilliant performances from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan.

The best Jane Austen adaptation this year is a heartfelt gay rom-com, starring Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang as two friends with very different romantic goals. A week's vacation on the titular island tests the duo's friendship as they get to know a charming doctor and guarded lawyer.



 

This Telugu-language blockbuster by director S.S. Rajamouli is the story of two strangers (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) who team up to rescue a kidnapped girl from British colonial officials. It's also three straight hours of maximalist filmmaking, from the edge-of-your-seat action sequences to the sprawling Tollywood dance numbers.

Emma Thompson stars in this introspective drama about a middle-aged, retired teacher named Nancy Stokes, who hires an escort in the wake of her husband's passing. As Leo Grande (played by Daryl McCormack) helps Nancy work through her inhibitions, the unlikely pairing form a deep and lovely connection.

The third Jordan Peele film is a cinematic event set in the California desert, where a mysterious extraterrestrial being threatens horse trainers OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald (Keke Palmer). In true Peele fashion, the film examines society's spectacle-obsessed culture through a meticulously thought-out plot filled with Easter eggs (and that's before we get to Gordy's Home!).

Marcel, a lovable character and 2010 YouTube sensation voiced by Jenny Slate, gets his big-screen debut in this sentimental drama about the young shell's journey to find his long-lost family. This faux-documentary handles themes of familial grief and community through the charming shell's life, with appearances by his grandmother (voiced by Isabella Rossellini), documentarian Dean (director Dean Fleischer-Camp), and 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl.

This daring satire on Southern megachurches gives an unflinching inside look at Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown) and First Lady Trinitie Childs’ (Regina King) efforts to bring back their congregation after a major scandal. King shows the full range of her craft while leading this mockumentary that ranges from a riotously funny farce to a sober look at the hypocrisies within the Childs’ lives.

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s fierce historical epic brings to life a fictionalized story of the Agojie, the all-female army of the 19th century African kingdom of Dahomey. Led by stellar performances from Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, and Lashana Lynch, the film is a graceful and thrilling ride that’s filled with some of the best practical action sequences of the year.

South Korean director Park Chan-wook delivers a modern film noir with this story of a police detective’s obsession with the charismatic widow he should be investigating. Stars Park Hae-il and Tang Wei give haunting performances, matching the erotic, suspenseful, melancholy feel that propels the Hitchcockian mystery.

In Lydia Tár, writer-director Todd Field and star Cate Blanchett have created both an instantly iconic character and a multi-layered film that should be experienced rather than defined. TÁR’s frenetic peek into the world of classical music builds an observant study of institutional power, the myth of genius, and “cancel culture,” turning a mirror to the audience to illuminate these aspects of society and art.

This introspective drama set on a small Irish island in the early 1900s explores the inner turmoil and outward violence of a friendship breakup, when Colm (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly cuts off his former drinking buddy Pádraic (Colin Farrell at his career best). The film from writer-director Martin McDonagh feels more like one of his plays, getting gradually more dire as the folk musician and the farmer’s feud affects the rest of the small community.

Ryan Coogler followed up 2018’s cultural juggernaut with a gorgeous blockbuster that both served as a loving tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman and a thrilling continuation showing Wakanda as the country grieves and reaffirms its strength following the loss of their king. The women lead the show in this installment, with Letitia Wright as Shuri and Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda giving unforgettable performances.



Related article: Wakanda Forever: How Hair And Makeup Tell A Story In The New Black Panther

In this debut from writer-director Charlotte Wells, a woman named Sophie (played by Frankie Corio as an 11-year-old) looks back on a childhood Turkish vacation with her dad (Paul Mescal) through her adult memory. The gorgeous coming-of-age film accurately depicts the hazy details of recollection and the varied emotions that come up when remembering the people that we’ve lost.

Fans of the 2019 ode to Agatha Christie mysteries can rest assured that Rian Johnson has built another intricately built caper that shows a unique take on the traditional whodunnit. Daniel Craig returns to have more fun playing Benoit Blanc, as he uncovers a conspiracy at the center of an arrogant millionaire’s (Edward Norton) group of “disruptor” sycophants, played by Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, and Kathryn Hahn.



This article originally appeared in Harper's BAZAAR US.