Top 10 Favorite Films of 2022
And no, Avatar didn’t make the cut.
While you can argue about whether 2022 was a good year for film, I know that it will always be a special film year for me. I attended the Cannes Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival and other advanced screenings throughout the year. I started this blog(?) with the goal of documenting my thoughts and improving my film criticism. Also, I’ve started tweeting.
My Top 10 list definitely reflects these experiences (especially Cannes) from small indie films to big international releases. With the additional caveat that I haven’t seen every film released this year so don’t come for me, here’s my list:
10. Stars at Noon
In a year where French director Claire Denis released not one, but two films, I’d be remiss to not recognize her on this list. ‘Stars At Noon’, the better of the two films, was surprisingly looked over during its premiere at Cannes, and its shelf-life on Hulu met a similarly quiet fate. Even so, ‘Stars At Noon’ preserves all of the features of a classic Denis film — from themes of white colonialism to another excellent score by the English alt-rock band Tindersticks — while tying in modern nuances of American (and English) capitalism and geopolitics in a Covid world. These are bold strokes for a film, however, Denis continues to paint with muted tones. Motivations and meanings are often mysteriously elusive. Denis, like a veteran poet, pushes an audience to decipher her meaning or create meaning of their own. With an eclectic and star-studded cast in Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, John C. Reilly, and one of the most interesting uses of Benny Safdie, this American ‘White Material’ deserves more eyes on it.
9. How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ was the best film I saw at the Philadelphia Film Festival. It follows a diverse group of radical activists from across the United States who meet up in Texas to blow up an oil pipeline to combat climate change. The film boasts a pretty phenomenal ensemble cast. Each character arrives to the scene of the event in different ways — some have adopted an ecoterrorist philosophy early on while others are pressured and persuaded to take action. Either way, the relationships that form amongst these young people is humorous and devastating and absolutely electric. Despite its activist themes, the film unfolds like a traditional thriller with sharp editing and intentional tracking shots. From the opening scene, director Daniel Goldhaber places a ticking time-bomb under our feet and hold us there in stressful anticipation until the end credits. The film was acquired by NEON and thus will (most likely) find a home on streaming soon and I can’t wait for more people to see it.
8. Barbarian
I never once thought that a horror movie would make my Top 10, but ‘Barbarian’ might just be the exception to the rule. Zach Cregger’s directorial debut tells the story of Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) who arrives at an AirBnb that is double-booked with another houseguest (Bill Skarsgård). Since ‘It’, Skarsgård has set of all alarm bells in my body and his appearance in ‘Barbarian’ is no different. However, this film truly was one of the most unexpected and unpredictable stories I’ve seen this year. As soon as you think that you understand it, the second act of the film flips everything on its head as you hurdle blindly to some unknown destination. Despite the unpredictability, Cregger proves to be a brilliant conductor as he reveals terrifying surprises around each corner while giving nuanced commentary on racial gentrification and 80s Reaganomics. Weird combo, I know, but ‘Barbarian’ is an insanely well-crafted genre film that offers more than what it seems.
7. Everything Everywhere All At Once
I went to a 10pm screening of this movie by myself in a cinema in Edinburgh. Afterwards, I impulsively went grocery shopping, FaceTimed my mom, and broke down crying in the cereal aisle. ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ pulls you in with classic comedic beats and fast-paced sequences to then punch you in the gut with beautifully fervent emotion. It succeeds in blending a heart-felt family drama with the current blockbuster frenzy of multi-verse action movies. It isn’t a coincidence that watching this film coincided with me giving up on MCU content. I’ve exited the metaphorical cave of shadow-puppet entertainment. Now that I’ve seen what true multi-dimensional, big set-piece films are capable of, I can’t go back to the pseudo-cinema I’ve been forced to consume. Lastly, Michelle Yeoh, the heartbeat of the film, wears multiple hats as she navigates various genres with astounding effortlessness. While she seems most likely to come up short for best actress (to an actress that is up higher up on this list), it is no doubt that she deserves all the praise that she is receiving and more.
6. Les Pires (The Worst Ones)
‘Les Pires’ is a special film. Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret’s directorial debut examines the ways in which filmmakers can exploit and manipulate their subjects for the sake of “art”. In the movie, filmmaker Gabriel (Johan Heldenbergh) visits an urban neighborhood in France with his crew to cast local children in his upcoming film. As we follow the production process from casting to shooting the final scene, we learn more about the troubled backgrounds of the children in the movie. While ‘Les Pires’ is a fictional story, the lives of these children and the connection that you build with them feels so brilliantly real. Ethics in filmmaking is a fickle subject. Oftentimes filmmakers can immorally manipulate their actors to achieve the best performance and story. Gabriel’s relationship with a young boy named Ryan (Timéo Mahaut) is as exploitative as it is tender. ‘Les Pires’ depicts the harm and the beauty that comes from filmmaking and documenting the human experience. ‘Les Pires’ is yet to make its American debut, but after winning the top prize in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, I’m optimistic that it will come to the States (in some capacity) very soon.
5. Tár
‘Tár’ follows the life and career of classical conductor Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett). To say anything more about the plot of the story would be inadequate — an inevitably gross mischaracterization of the greater themes of the film. However, what I can say is that Lydia Tár, a fictional character, feels more real to me than actual celebrities that I see on television. Todd Field crafts her with intricate precision from her physical ticks all the way down to her tailored suits. From his image, Cate Blanchett brings the character to life in a way that absolutely entrances you—even with the 3-hour runtime. While ‘Tár’ lacks (perhaps purposefully) the emotional vivacity that I associate with the next four films, the level of filmmaking and performance that has been achieved can hardly be overlooked. At this point, the Best Actress Oscar is Cate Blanchett’s to lose. So, as long as she refrains from any Will Smith-esque faux pas in the next three months, she’s the most deserving and clear winner of the prize.
4. Top Gun: Maverick
In 1975 ‘Jaws’ opened in theaters to crowds lining up around the block, giving it the title of “the first ever summer blockbuster.” Now, I wasn’t alive in 1975 to officially compare, but after experiencing ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ in theaters this summer I would put this film up against ‘Jaws’ as the best blockbuster experience ever. While I am being slightly hyperbolic — ‘Jaws’ is ‘Jaws’, I can’t think of another time when a sequel that gets delayed four times and released 36 years after its predecessor actually exceeds all expectations and is better than the original. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is everything that I ever want in an action movie: a charismatic leading character, an emotional and comedically elevated supporting cast, a seemingly impossible but well-explained mission, and absolutely mind-boggling set-pieces. Check, check, check, and check. Tom Cruise, Joe Kosinski (director), and Christopher McQuarrie (screenwriter) are the cinematic trio for the ages. I never thought I’d be this jazzed about planes in the sky, but ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ makes you remember how much fun going to the movies can be.
3. Joyland
Where to begin? Pakistan’s official submission for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards has come a long way since its May premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It has been the subject of immense criticism for its queer content prompting the almost successful social media movement, #BanJoyland. However, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘Joyland’ is much more than a queer film. It is a film about family, gender roles, and cultural tradition that is handled with the utmost grace and narrative complexity. While the relationship between Haider and a transgender woman named Biba is at the center of the story, filmmaker Sadim Sadiq spends more time fostering their connection rather than analyzing their sexualities. Despite having no similarities with the characters’ backgrounds (from their culture to their language), it is almost impossible to not empathize with them. This film hit me and hit me hard. ‘Joyland’ is a beautiful work of art.
2. Nope
2022 will mark the year that Hollywood gave a black man an IMAX camera and he blew everyone’s minds. If ‘Get Out’ was the film that opened the door for Jordan Peele, ‘Nope’ will be the film that got him a seat at the table. It’s the perfect blend between ‘Get Out’ and the bold, meta-textual ambitions that fell flat in ‘Us’ to make a genre-bending horror-western-sci-fi-social-commentary-comedy film that works. It’s a story that you can watch over and over again as you decipher new meanings in every layered scene. And, on top of that, the film gives us some of the best IMAX shots ever. EVER. It is a story and experience of spectacle. ‘Nope’ pays homage to early camera technology and groundbreaking filmmaking while creating pioneering visuals of its own that are sure to be in every film student’s textbook in 20 years. It’s hard to think of another movie that floored me on all fronts — narratively, technically, musically, etc…
1. Babylon
…wait, just kidding, ‘Babylon’ did that too. If I told you that my two favorite movies of the year had a lot in common, I doubt you would think they were ‘Nope’ and ‘Babylon.’ Nonetheless, they’re are surprisingly similar with completely original screenplays, giant set-pieces, and an overarching storyline about the history of movies (including a feature of the same clip of Eadweard Muybridge’s ‘The Horse in Motion’). I haven’t shut up about this movie since I saw it for the first time, so I’ll just say: watch this movie. ‘Babylon’ is everything I wished ‘La La Land’ would be and its truly a miracle that an original big budget prestige film like this was made in 2022. While it’s having a pretty dismal performance at the box office, don’t be surprised if the Oscars brings it into relevancy. The Academy is a known sucker for Damien Chazelle, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt — not to mention, films about Hollywood. I’ll stand by this coked-up Hollywood melodrama until the day I die.
