My Top 10 Best Movies of 2022

Despite 2022 being a chaotic year for multiple reasons, there were certainly an incredible number of excellent movies that came out that year, so much so that it was very hard to organise this list as there were so many good movies to choose from that It felt wrong to move some of them down the list into the double digits of my ranking list. So to get the obvious right away, this is just my personal opinion and my own list of the movies I saw last year that I loved the most. This isn't a list of movies I think should be on everyone's list, this is just for me and me only. I also didn't get a chance to see every great movie last year so this isn't a perfect and accurate summarisation of what truly is the best movie of 2022, These were the movies that I had a chance to see from last year that I enjoyed the most and reminded me the most why I love film in the first place.

10) Bodies Bodies Bodies

Anchored by an incredible young cast and only at a tight hour and a half, Bodies Bodies Bodies is the funniest satire on Gen Z to come out in probably ever, while also combining elements of horror, slasher and mystery so effortlessly as what start's out as a fun and wild party quickly devolves into a night of terror, distrust, conflict and death. Each character is memorable and gets their own chance to shine, all the performances are on point, the movie never once loses its grip as you laugh one minute to being uncomfortable next and Pete Davidson who I find to be a complete ass in real life, matched the character he was playing very well. Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun ride with only one flaw, as I figured out the twist ending long before the movie finally gets to it and you wonder how are these people so stupid not to come to this conclusion in the first place, with that said it doesn't make it any less funny in hindsight and only gives the movie more rewatch value, something I can't say for the vast majority of mystery thrillers.

9) Bones and All

As someone who is desensitized to romance movies as I find a lot of them hard to relate to, I was surprised to find out that not only Bones and All was the most romantic movie of 2022 but the most romantic movie I've ever seen in a long time, which makes that fact more surprising considering it's a film about cannibals. But trust in Luca Guadagino to actually portray a character type long associated with horror movie monsters with a level of empathy and compassion never given to them. Portraying them as real people while also making the dilemma of their repressed desire very crystal clear. The cinematography from Arseni Khachaturan is beautiful in its nostalgic and retro use of film whilst having grimy and dirty look. Mark Rylance gives the most terrifying performance of the year, all accompanied by an unsettling but euphoric score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. I also loved how unfocused the entire narrative is as our lead characters (Taylor Russel and Timothee Chalamet) constantly try to find a place to belong in a world that is sure to not accept them once their secrets become clear. All cumulating in an ending that is horrific in its imagery but heartbreaking in its tragic conclusion. All in all, this is another movie that sure confirms Guadagino as one of the more interesting directors working today.

8) Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer is minimalist and observational filmmaking done perfectly, Set in mostly a courtroom, the film never once deviates from its simplistic structure, as we follow a young woman named Rama, a college professor who goes to the French prominence of Saint-Omer to view and analyse a trial involving a young woman who left her baby for dead in a beach during the middle of a rising tide. I will not give any details of the plot beyond this description, I will say that at only two hours long, the film flies by in an instant as its dedicated to subjecting the viewer to this trial as if you are actually watching it in real life, leaving you to come to your conclusions, never once giving an essentialist view of the details presented to you all while getting its fingers dirty on its themes of intergenerational trauma, isolation, and child abuse. The movie is presented in a raw, subtle way, never once beating you over the head with dramatic music and complex camera angles. I do find European minimalist movies to be sometimes hard work, especially ones that are so laid back in style and only a few directors can perfect it (Just look at Two Days, One Night and any movie from the Dardennes for example) but Saint-Omer is one of the best examples of these movies I've seen recently.

7) Everything Everywhere All At Once

While definitely fell into the trap of having too much hype surrounding it and it can risk overstaying its welcome, there's no denying Everything Everywhere, All At Once is one of if not the most ambitious film to come out last year. It's also the closest movie I've seen from last year that has a bit of everything, comedy, action, drama, thriller etc. It never is consistent with what genre, or tone it wants to go for and it is fully embracing that fact. It does take a while to get into its wavelength but when you do you find that it's a very bonkers experience that consistently finds new ways to surprise you at every turn. With all that said the movie has a lot to say, not just about life, depression, nihilism and pessimism, but it's a movie that through the plot device of the multiverse, manages to explore deep, existential questions about the path we choose to take on our lives, What would happen if we made different choices with our life decisions, who would you want to spend your life with, what would you want to do, regardless how significant or insignificant it may be. Something that the vast majority of us can empathise in some degree. It also bolsters some great performances, not just from the great Michelle Yeoh, but Ke Huy Quan is completely lovable in his role and it's nice to see him in movies again.

6) The Menu

There have been numerous pieces of media last year that attempted to satirize the wealthy and the powerful with varying degrees of success, and while The Menu isn't my favourite movie of 2022 to do this (that movie is way down the list) It comes damn near close. While the movie isn't subtle in what it's saying, the overall premise is so original, strange and unpredictable that you are glued to the screen the entire time. This isn't just a movie that says "rich people are bad" It's a movie that calls out the treatment of the workers that constantly work hard to make the highest quality meal imaginable to appeal to those who don't care about them. How people who start out wanting to do the simple task of serving good food to everyday people become corrupted mentally by the taxing and debilitating task of always trying to cook the next big meal, even at the expense of your social life and your mental health. It's a movie that not only makes fun of the rich but the cult of personality surrounding the head chef, the critics that review and over analyse the food through academic jargon and the fanboys that defend and worship the artist and what's given to them no matter what. It's also a movie that's very funny with lots of quotable dialogue, and memorable performances (Ralph Fiennes Being the obvious stand-out). It's a brilliant mix of hilarious and serious at the same time.

5) Aftersun

When I first went to see Aftersun, I didn't really know much about it other than people loved it and it was somewhat autobiographical. What I didn't expect was to be taken aback at how beautiful but depressing the movie is, as we follow a young girl Sophie and her dad Callum on a holiday to Turkey, just when she is about to turn 11 years old. All told in a reflective, fragmented way, as her innocent mind makes her incapable of fully understanding what is going on in Callum's head and what the adults in her life are really planning around her, we only ever rarely see her as an adult when she now has a slightly better understanding of her father who she never really understood. We are never fully told what is going on with Callum but we get glimpses that allow us the viewer to connect the dots. It's a movie that feels very personal as if you listening to someone open up about a time in your life that defined them, Writer-director Charlotte Wells understands how smart kids can be but also understands there are a lot of things that are out of their control, this is especially true of their parental upbringing. Paul Mescal gives one of the most subtle but heartbreaking performances of the year and newcomer Frankie Corio is one to look out for, both are very believable in their roles. The music by Oliver Coates is astonishing. Vibrant, and colourful but also captures the feeling of numbness. It's not an easy film to get into but is it very rewarding by the end as your heart will sink to the bottom of the earth once it reaches its conclusion.

4) Nope

Jordan Peele despite starting out in comedy has had the most assured horror directing careers in recent years and his latest film Nope is personally my favourite film of his thus far as it's not only the scariest film that he has made but it's one where the underlying message and theme that he wants to convey is the most defined and thought-provoking. In that Hollywood, celebrity and pop culture always ruins everything, when faced with a groundbreaking discovery, Everyone wants a piece of the pie, but at the end of the day, no one knows how to really control or understand the creature up in the sky, same goes for any kind of animal, including the monkey in the sitcom or a horse on a film set. All we can do is tame it and control it. Nope is a film that pays both homages to Hollywood and the classic monster movies of the 70s while also being somewhat critical of it at the same time and having its own creative spin on the genre. It is also filled with many terrifying sequences, from the spectators being sucked into the air, to the creature spitting out blood on the top of the house. to any scene involving Gordy the Monkey, The film however is not without some funny scenes to give it a sense of levity while never feeling out of place, Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer have great chemistry with each other as they provide the perfect clash in personalities.

3) Tár

Tár is a movie that must have taken years to perfect which is probably the case as this is director Todd Feild's first movie since 2006 when he directed Little Children, if so then he did a bang-up job in having the most well-observed portrayals of the music world ever placed on film. Even more impressive is his ability to make this character seem so real as if she's based on an actual person who exists in the real world. The whole opening sequence where we spend a good five minutes being introduced to who this person is, what are her achievements and how well-regarded she is in her craft, it provides the perfect set-up for what's to come, as from then on we see that facade of a genius who can do no wrong slowly melt away. Cate Blanchett is phenomenal as the prestigious composer whose hard work to be respected in her field becomes undone by her own actions and her abuse of her status. The film does not try to portray her in a black-or-white way, on the one hand, she's very talented with what she does but at the same time she's clearly guilty of what she's done or at least has done something unethical, The movie is over two hours long and while it is slow to start off with, once the narrative picks up, the movie becomes an engrossing experience, so much so that at a certain point you are no longer thinking about the time. It's beautifully shot by Florian Hoffmeister who relies on a lot of one-take scenes, letting them play out as realistically as possible and I didn't know what the movie was going to go next, which is something that is very hard for a movie to do nowadays.

2) Triangle of Sadness

Ruben Ostland's Triangle of Sadness is not only very funny, consistently engaging and incredibly unpredictable but it also has the best ending I've seen this year, as it is not only rewarding and shocking but it is one where it makes everything you have seen in retrospect much more understandable as you realise the full intent of everything that was presented to you, from the socialist Captain of a luxurious cruise ship and the Capitalist fertiliser salesman debating the semantics of both ideologies to the guests puking their dinner during a massive storm, everything has a purpose. Every character is memorable, the performances are stellar and the movie is so much fun to watch, especially with a crowd of people. It's a movie that beyond its observational, satirical crude humour, it is a movie that has so much to say about power imbalance, social and class divisions and societal roles. Like Tár this is also a very long movie but when everything about the film finds new ways to entertain you it hardly matters. You may have noticed that I have been very vague about the story beyond some of the highlights of the film, that's because the movie is also best to watch knowing as little about it as possible, it makes the movie much more surprising as the film shifts perspectives, not focusing on any one character, taking sharp dramatic turns all leading up to that ending that leaves you feeling shocked and gobsmacked. Can't recommend it highly enough

1) The Banshees of Innersernin

Irish playwright Martin McDonnagh's previous film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Musori was not a bad film but its shortcomings came from the fact that McDonnagh was telling a film of racism in small-town America from an outsider's perspective. That problem is never present in Banshees however as McDonagh has instead opted to tell a story set in his native home country during the Irish civil war about two friends who for one reason or another just can't get along. This was the funniest movie I saw all year, not because of any big gags or setpieces, but because the dialogue is extremely witty and quotable, the humour comes from a place that feels very genuine not because the film is telling you to laugh. However, there is an underlining sense of tragedy present in this film that leaves you feeling sorry for everyone involved. Every motivation is understandable, from Padric's choice to settle for a simple life with a few people in a small village in the middle of nowhere to Colm's existential mid-life crisis, wanting to do something meaningful in his life before kicking the bucket. The characters feel like real people, the score by Carter Burwell solidifies him as one of the best composers alive, the attention to detail on the setting is very well realised, all the performances are fantastic and Colin Farell has my vote for best actor at the Academy Awards. It's a film I could watch again and again and find something new to appreciate about it, It's the film from 2022 I've thought about the most and haven't stopped thinking about ever since. The more I let it settle in my mind the more I love it.