The Best Films of 2022

Welcome, dear reader, to my fourth annual “Best Films of the Year” list. Once again, I have decided to torture myself with the ultimately futile task of ranking pieces of art against other pieces of art based on my subjective experience with said pieces of art in an attempt to determine “the best” — whatever the hell that means. As with every year, I can assure you that this is the most definitive, scientifically verified, objective, and trusted Best of 2022 list available on the internet. The New York Times? Forget about it. IndieWire? No thank you. The Guardian? Absolutely not. This is the only one that matters.

2022 was indisputably a year. A year that, might I add, had movies released during it. Some of these movies, like any other year, were really great and some of these movies were really bad. In this listicle, we celebrate the films that fall into that former category.

Amongst the year’s highlights include films from directors with decades-long careers like Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, and David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. There were some excellent films from younger, newer directors like Jordan Peele with Nope, Damien Chazelle with Babylon, and Robert Eggers with The Northman. The independent scene had some strong films with Ninja Thyburg’s harrowing drama Pleasure, Cooper Raiff’s delightful Cha Cha Real Smooth, and Sophie Hyde’s intimate Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.

International filmmaking had a strong grip on the 2022 market with films like the Italian/Polish co-production Eo, the Iranian film Hit the Road, South Korea’s Decision to Leave and Broker, the surprising Indian crossover action hit RRR, and the multi-national Memoria and Triangle of Sadness. There were some excellent animated films like Guillermo del Toro’s World War II-set Pinocchio, Phil Tippett’s thirty-year passion project Mad God, and the lovable Bob’s Burgers Movie. This was also a very good year for tentpole blockbusters. Avatar: The Way of Water served as a glorious return to Pandora, Prey became an unexpected streaming hit, The Batman became one of the coolest superhero flicks ever, and Top Gun: Maverick seemed to blow audiences and critics away across the board. 

Every year, I set out to make this list a clean top 10. Every year, the list always balloons beyond the top 10. There are always just a couple more films I want to include. While there were many amazing films this year, many of which I did not have the time to review for my blog, only so many could be on this list. I could make a list with 20, 25, or 30 films, but at a certain point, it just gets too long. I have included a few “honourable mentions” at the end of the list.

As always, I could not see every film that was released this year. I am only one person. I am sure that there are plenty of films that might have made this list had I been able to see them. Some notable films in that particular category include All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Eo, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and Babylon. 

With all that out of the way, here are my 12 favourite films of 2022 . . .

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12. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Daniel Craig in Glass Onion. Image: Netflix.

“I'll pay you one billion dollars to tell me which one of them tried to kill me.”

Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) makes his return to the screen with Glass Onion, the stand-alone sequel to the delightful Knives Out (2019). In this Grecian adventure, Blanc is invited under a mysterious pretext to the private island of billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), just in time for a murder mystery game hosted by Miles for his closest friends. But, as one might expect, things don’t go according to plan when long-standing tensions within the group resurface. This subversive mystery-comedy-thriller features a head-spinning plot in the vein of Agatha Christie mixed with distinctly 2022 social commentary. Daniel Craig heads the ensemble cast of the year playing some of the most memorable movie characters of the year. Director Rian Johnson confidently and cleverly leads the audience through a web of lies and deceit. While the film might be a little too on the nose with its themes and satire, when the direction, cinematography, and performances are this self-assured, it’s hard to not fall in love with Glass Onion. Trust me, you have no idea where this story is going to go.

Glass Onion is available to stream on Netflix.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Rian Johnson.

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11. Women Talking

The ensemble cast of Women Talking. Image: United Artists.

“Why does love — the absence of love, the end of love, the need for love — result in so much violence?”

For presumable generations, the women of a secluded Christian community in South America have been repeatedly drugged and sexually assaulted by the men of the community. The stories of the assaults have always been reduced to female imaginings and the work of demons. However, on one fateful night, a young girl witnesses one of the perpetrators — not a devil, but a man — fleeing from the scene of the crime. As the men go into town to bail out the accused rapist, the women find themselves alone for the first time ever. Together, they must decide their fate: do they stay or do they flee? Based on the novel by Miriam Toews, in turn loosely based on a true story, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking is one of the most difficult films of the year. It’s an absolutely harrowing chamber drama with its stacked cast delivering incredible performance after incredible performance. Polley’s filmmaking is humanizing and empathetic. It’s a hopeful, bitter-sweet story that won’t be forgotten easily.

Women Talking is now playing in select theatres and goes into wide release in January 2023.

Directed by Sarah Polley.

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10. The Northman

Alexander Skarsgård in The Northman. Image: Focus Features.

“You must choose between kindness for your kin and hatred for your enemies.”

A symphony of blood and ruin, Robert Eggers’ The Northman, a Viking revenge epic based on the myth that also inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a brutal, bloody tour de force. The film follows Amleth, a young Viking prince, as he seeks revenge upon his uncle for the murder of his father. It’s a pretty standard revenge affair, but where this film shines is in its direction, production, performances, and just about everything else. Alexander Skarsgård is incredible as Prince Amleth, leading a cast that features great turns from Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, and many others. The film looks incredible, with some of the most evocative and distinct visual choices of the year. Like in his previous films The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), Eggers is able to present the past in a way that very few other filmmakers have ever attempted. Instead of making the past more palatable, he creates a world that feels alien and distant, a world where the very psychologies and motivations of the characters are distinct. There are very few other films committed to their own existence quite like The Northman.

The Northman is available to rent through Google, Apple, and Amazon.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Robert Eggers.

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9. Nope

Daniel Kaluuya in Nope. Image: Universal.

“What if I told you that today you'll leave here different? I’m talking to you. Right here, you are going to witness an absolute spectacle. So what happens next? You ready?”

Nope, the third film from comedian-turned-filmmaker Jordan Peele, is one of the most thought-provoking films of the year. This sci-fi/western/horror/thriller film follows siblings OJ and Emerald Hayworth who find their horse-training ranch suddenly stalked by a monstrous UFO. Nope packs blockbuster-esque action with a thoughtful, intelligent story. The film serves as an excellent commentary on society’s addiction to spectacle and documenting, what it calls, “bad miracles.” The parts of the story that might seem the most random or distant from the main narrative end up being the most interesting parts of the film to discuss and dissect. Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are excellent in the two leading roles, but it’s Steven Yeun who really steals the spotlight here. The filmmaking is extremely inventive, with the cinematography, sound design, and musical score being some of the best technical aspects. Nope further proves Peele’s abilities as a filmmaker showing how organically he can weave big ideas with an incredibly entertaining premise.

Nope is available to rent through Google, Apple, and Amazon.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Jordan Peele.

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8. Decision to Leave

Park Hae-il and Tang Wei in Decision to Leave. Image: CJ Entertainment.

“The moment you said you loved me, your love is over. The moment your love ends, my love begins.”

Decision to Leave is a razor-sharp thriller from director Park Chan-wook, the filmmaker behind Oldboy (2003) and The Handmaiden (2016). With a tricky plot and some incredibly interesting editing, the film doesn’t let its audience off the hook until its devastating finale. The story follows detective Jang Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) when he encounters Chinese immigrant Song Seo-rae (Tang Wei) after her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. Song quickly turns into the primary suspect with Jang beginning to investigate the woman more heavily. But as the policeman burrows into the suspect’s life, sparks begin to fly between the two. Decision to Leave is a brilliant return from one of the Korean New Wave’s defining voices. The filmmaking is absolutely brilliant, with Park using a mountain of inventive, clever camera tricks to create one of the most energetic films of the year. Park’s directing is clever and playful making Decision to Leave a surprisingly funny film, without ever losing the gravity of the situations at hand. The film is thematically rich, as well, offering so much to discuss and dissect after the film. It is also probably the most romantic film of the year.

Decision to Leave is available to stream on MUBI.

Directed by Park Chan-wook.

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7. The Banshees of Inisherin

Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin. Image: Searchlight.

“I am not putting me donkey outside when I’m sad, okay?”

Sometimes it’s just time for a relationship to end, whether or not there’s a great reason for it. That’s where life-long friends Pádraic (Collin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) find themselves at the start of Martin McDonagh’s pitch-black comedy The Banshees of Inisherin. One day, Colm abruptly says that he no longer wants to be friends with Pádraic. Pádraic’s crime? He’s just too dull. This sudden turn of events sets the former friends up on a course for disaster. The Banshees of Inisherin is a quiet, understated little film. It packs a powerful with a very sparse story. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are absolutely fantastic in the leading roles with Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan giving too spectacular supporting performances. It also makes one of the strongest cases for the idea of “location as a character” in a long time. The film lovingly captures the Irish countryside with some absolutely stunning cinematography and its sense of humour is so rooted in Irish culture and tradition. The film is also incredibly dense with its reflections on legacy, art, and meaning in a place that so often feels existentially lonesome. Sometimes, the most terrible feeling is just being alone.

The Banshees of Inisherin is available to stream on Disney+ and to rent via Google, Apple, and Amazon.

Directed by Martin McDonagh.

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6. Triangle of Sadness

Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson in Triangle of Sadness. Image: Lionsgate.

“So is this runway casting for a grumpy brand or a smiley brand?”

The internationally co-produced Triangle of Sadness is an uproariously funny satire from Ruben Östlund, the filmmaker behind Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017). Split into three distinct narrative chapters, the film primarily concerns the passengers and staff of a luxury yacht — the influencer/fashion model couple, the drunken communist captain, the Russian shit-selling capitalist, the elderly arms dealers, the first mate trying to keep everything in order, the initially unassuming Filipina maid, and the woman who can only speak using a single German phrase. Of course, things do not go well on board the ship when it finds itself suddenly trapped in a terrifying storm. Using the image of the boat in a storm, the film explores the absurdity of contemporary existence. While social ills and class politics are often easy targets for filmmakers (see Glass Onion and 2019’s Parasite as some excellent recent examples), it’s hard to be mad at Östlund when he handles the film with so much style and comedic flair. The massive ensemble cast is excellent across the board as the film devolves into pure chaos by the end of its second chapter. You certainly won’t forget Triangle of Sadness any time soon. I for one never want to sail again.

Triangle of Sadness is available to rent through Google, Apple, and Amazon.

Directed by Ruben Östlund.

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5. The Fabelmans

Paul Dano, Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, and Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans. Image: Universal.

“Movies are dreams that you never forget.”

Steven Spielberg has carved out a niche as one of the most innovative and iconic American filmmakers ever. With a string of culture- and cinema-defining hits like Jaws (1974), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Jurassic Park (1993), and Schindler’s List (1993), Spielberg’s films have always been about pushing the cinematic art form forward. Now 51 years and 32 movies into his filmmaking career, Spielberg goes back to his past for The Fabelmans. This semi-autobiographical film inspired heavily by Spielberg’s own youth follows Sammy Fabelman from his childhood to his early adulthood, through his family troubles, first loves, and, ultimately, his love of moviemaking. The Fabelmans explores the relationship between an art form and its artist in a level of intimacy that most films about art never quite understand. Spielberg’s mix of personal memories and profound comments about filmmaking makes The Fabelmans an absolute stand out. Spielberg remains so firmly in command of his work here, even until the last shot.

The Fabelmans is now playing in theatres.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

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4. Tár

Cate Blanchett in Tár. Image: Focus Features.

“You want to dance the mask, you must service the composer. You gotta sublimate yourself, your ego, and, yes, your identity. You must, in fact, stand in front of the public and God and obliterate yourself.”

Cate Blanchett delivers one of the best performances of the year in Todd Field’s musical drama Tár. The film follows world-renowned conductor Lydia Tár (Blanchett) as she navigates through a personal reckoning with her legacy as a talented yet often problematic public individual. The film tows this brilliant line between empathy and condemnation, offering a nuanced and believable portrait of its protagonist. Every other supporting character is also able to hold their own against Blanchett with marvellously realized performances. The craft is quite amazing as well. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and its sound design — particularly the use of classical music — is powerful and riveting. While the film is pretty “talky,” it never loses its sense of tension. The film offers plenty to talk about a dissect long after its completion. Tár is slow, hypnotizing, and utterly compelling.

Tár is available to rent through Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Directed by Todd Field.

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3. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Image: A24.

“Of all the places I could be, I just want to be here with you.”

Multiverses are all the rage nowadays. With the MCU now diving head-first into the concept and the DCEU ignoring a unified continuity altogether, dimension-hopping has never been a hotter idea. Everything Everywhere All At Once — an absurdist independent comedy with about an eighth of the budget of most big blockbusters — single-handedly puts all other attempts at multiversal narratives to shame. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, also known as “Daniels,” the film follows an immigrant mother, Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh), as she struggles to keep her laundromat business afloat and maintain her relationship with her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). If things weren’t bad enough, Evelyn is then suddenly pulled into a universe-crossing adventure to defend all of existence from the villainous “Jobu Tupaki.” Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the year’s most emotionally affecting films (in a year full of emotionally affecting films) as it cleverly balances the family drama at its heart with its absurdist tendencies. You would be hard-pressed to find a film all at once more unique, entertaining, emotional, and memorable.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is available to stream on Amazon Prime and to rent via Apple, Google, and Amazon.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

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2. The Batman

Zoë Kravitz and Robert Pattinson in The Batman. Image: Warner Bros.

“You’re a part of this, too.”

Matt Reeves’ The Batman might just be the most exciting work of superheroic filmmaking since Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008). With a moody visual style and minimal action, the film is hardly a superhero movie in the traditional sense. It takes notes from the filmography of David Fincher, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween graphic novel, and a long history of noir and neo-noir filmmaking making it more The Third Man (1949) or Se7en (1995) than Justice League (2017) or The Avengers (2012). The Batman is a stunning “cape and dagger” murder mystery that finally earns Batman the title of “world’s greatest detective on the big screen. Pattinson makes for an excellent addition to the long history of Batman actors, with really strong supporting performances from Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, and Paul Dano. This rainy and often expressionistic interpretation of the Dark Knight isn’t the hero we’re used to, but it is so desperately the superhero film we need.

The Batman is available to stream on Crave and to rent via Google, Apple, and Amazon.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Matt Reeves.

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1. Aftersun

Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal in Aftersun. Image: A24.

“I think it’s nice that we share the same sky.”

2022 was a year for big movies. So many of this year’s best films were movies with big action sequences, stellar visual effects, head-spinning concepts, and intense emotions. On this list, there’s Glass Onion, The Batman, The Northman, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Nope. Even Decision to Leave falls into this category to an extent. Outside of this list, there’s Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick, and RRR. So it remains very funny to me that the movie to beat them all is Aftersun, a quiet, soft, unassuming little movie about a childhood vacation.

Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun might just be the best directorial debut since Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird (2017). What starts off as a simple enough father/daughter drama slowly turns into a fascinating look at memory and parenthood. The memories of protagonist Sophie’s youth is viewed through the perspective of the future adult Sophie coming to terms with the life of her father — the man she knew and the man she never knew. The story is beautiful and haunting. It offsets joyous memories of childhood with incredibly melancholic cinematography and editing. It can take quite a while to determine where Aftersun is going narratively — it contents itself to remain abstract and cryptic — but once it reaches its final leg, the emotional effect is apparent and devastating. Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio deliver two phenomenal performances with their rapport being one of the best parts of the film. While this was a year of many personal, intimate films, Aftersun understands the inner workings of its characters more than any other film this year. It is an absolute triumph. Wells has an exciting career ahead of her.

Aftersun is available to buy via Apple, Amazon, and Google.

Directed by Charlotte Wells.

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Honourable Mentions

Images from (let-to-right) RRR, Crimes of the Future, Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water. Composite.

In an attempt to keep this list to a manageable number of films, I had to cut many, many excellent films from it, a task that hurt me greatly. Here, I have compiled an alphabetized list of “runners-up” — films you should absolutely see but could not quite make the top spots.

• After Yang (directed by Kogonada) — A soft, meditative, and introspective sci-fi bolstered by a set of beautiful performances and thoughtful filmmaking. It’s refreshing to see a genre that is so often dark and bleak turn to material that is hopeful and loving. 

• Avatar: The Way of Water (directed by James Cameron) — Beautiful visuals abound in this great new sci-fi adventure. I might have been pretty cold on the first Avatar movie, but The Way of Water has convinced me of James Cameron’s vision for Pandora and the rest of this epic. 

• Broker (directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda) — Broker is a beautiful found-family road trip movie across South Korea. It’s a pretty difficult watch at points with some extremely heavy subject matter discussed, but the film is so human and emotionally stirring.

• Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (directed by Junta Yamaguchi) — This ultra-low-budget Japanese time travel comedy about a TV that can show you two minutes into the future is so much fun. Of course, whenever you mess with the flow of time, things always go badly. 

• Crimes of the Future (directed by David Cronenberg) — With Crimes of the Future, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg gets back to his body horror roots. The film is a bleak futuristic story about a world without pain and the attempts to modify the human body. The film is a great turn in the later period of Cronenberg’s incredible career.

• RRR (directed by S. S. Rajamouli) — Despite being one of the largest film markets in the world, it is extraordinarily rare for Indian films to crossover into other international markets. So RRR, a Telugu-language epic historical action film, came as a word-of-mouth surprise to many audiences and critics in the west this year. With bombastic action, crazy musical numbers, and two charismatic leading performances, RRR is a lot of fun. And it’s streaming on Netflix! 

• Three Thousand Years of Longing (directed by George Miller) — George Miller’s fairy tale romance is a fun, imaginative movie. Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton give two great performances. The flashback stories are all a great delight to watch.

• Top Gun: Maverick (directed by Joseph Kosinski) — Top Gun: Maverick is yet another unexpected hit. While I don’t think many were expecting much from the legacy sequel to a pretty forgettable 1980s action movie, Top Gun instead delivers some of the best action all year with an emotionally resonant story about family and legacy. Tom Cruise is the last of a dying breed.

Also worth seeing — The Tragedy of Macbeth by Joel Coen; Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro; X and Pearl by Ti West; Mad God by Phil Tippett; Bones and All by Luca Guadagnino; All Quiet on the Western Front by Edward Berger; Good Luck to You, Leo Grande by Sophie Hyde; Something in the Dirt by Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson; Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Barbarian by Zach Cregger; Vengeance by B.J. Novak; Flux Gourmet by Peter Strickland.