Each year we do a Top 10 list for our awards show, and it’s some of the most fun we have on the podcast. Yes, these lists often change over time, but there’s something about celebrating your favorite films in a given year that I find very rewarding. 2022 was especially exciting because there’s an argument to be made that it’s the best year of the 20’s so far. At the very least it had the most depth, with some films fighting heavily for that last spot in the Top 10. And my 11-20? Yeah that was a nightmare trying to figure out. But again, a fun nightmare because there were just so many good films to choose from for those slots. The year started off kind of slow, with some great films in the middle for sure, but it wasn’t until late fall and into December where things snowballed with immense intensity. There were some weeks where it was one gem after another. Whether it be from veterans like Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh or Guillermo del Toro. Or newcomers such as Charlotte Wells, Panah Panahi or Dean Fleischer Camp. At every turn there was something excellent around the corner. It was also a great year for spectacle and that is no doubt exemplified in my list below as well. 2022 had so much to offer and it was a memorable one, that’s for sure.
We do encourage you to listen to Episode 516 to hear more about our picks, but as we do every year, listed here (after the jump) are my Top 10 Movies of 2022.
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RELATED: JD’s Top 10 Movies of 2021
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10. Hit the Road
Hit the Road isn’t just on my list here, it’s my pick for Best Overlooked Movie of 2022 as well. The film fell through the cracks, but it’s one hell of a debut from Panah Panahi (son of the great Jafar Panahi). His direction is phenomenal. The tonal precision of the film is especially striking. Hit the Road starts off as this biting comedy, and it’s truly one of the funniest films of 2022, before it transitions into this poignant commentary about parental sacrifice. In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, this is a tonal mess, but instead it’s handled with great diligence. As if that’s not enough, Hit the Road is my pick for Best Cinematography as well. The imagery here is stunning. It’s evocative on its own, but simultaneously very complimentary to the film’s drama and humor. The performances are remarkable. There’s just so much to love and I hope people catch up with it.
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9. The Northman
What can I say? I’m in the bag for Robert Eggers. His commitment to deeply layered mythology and lore is mesmerizing. However, what I love about The Northman is how that ethos is embedded into the DNA of the film and how it drives the choices of these characters. Throughout the film Amleth is taught that he must die in battle to reach Valhalla. What a better way to die than by seeking revenge on your Uncle for killing your father right in front of you. Eggers brilliantly marries faith and mythology to render vivacious machismo, and it makes for some of the most gripping drama of 2022. Then there’s the film’s redolent cinematography. The set design. The period aesthetics. The performances. It’s all excellent. Click here to listen to our full review.
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8. All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is the most visceral experience I’ve had in years. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s one full of remarkable pathos and passion. If you’ve seen its Oscar-winning predecessor, you know what you’re walking into, and yet Edward Berger (where the hell did he come from by the way?) creates an overwhelming recreation of WWI that impeccably amplifies the commentary of the original source material. Berger’s direction in it all is transportive, guttural and immensely stark. The performances are phenonmenal. And the new additions of the political negotiations add a bleak irony that makes it distinctive from other version of this story. Click here to listen to our full review.
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7. After Yang
After Yang is one of the most soulful and graceful films of 2022. It sees one of Colin Farrell’s best performances as a man whose family is grieving over the loss of their techno-sapien robot, and he begins to grapple with loss in ways he did not expect. What I find so profound about the film is how writer-director Kogonada examines memory through the lens of someone we’ve loved and lost. When Jake finds out that Yang was able to capture his own memories, it allows him to see what was important to Yang. How did he see the world? What memories was he willing to safeguard over others? How would we react if we had the ability to see memories from other perspectives? There’s so much here about that idea that I find so thought-provoking and poignant. After Yang also features my pick for Best Original Score. The music here, along with Farrell, are a key reason as to why the film is so moving. Click here to listen to our full review.
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6. Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick, aka Manchester By the Sea in the sky, is one of the best blockbusters we’ve seen in the last decade. As a spectacle, it’s breathtaking to watch and experience. However, as exhilarating as its action is, the emotional core of the film is just as riveting. Maverick is a character surrounded by death, and the screenplay uses that to its advantage to make Maverick a vulnerable character. Something that both Tom Cruise and Miles Teller channel incredibly well to create a dynamic that’s really moving. The scenes between them are palpable and never without tension. Then there’s Mav’s “I can’t beat it” moment with Iceman that is the icing on the cake. It’s Cruise’s best work in years. This will be a film that ages like fine wine as the years go on, and it’s one of the best of 2022. Click here to listen to our full review.
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5. The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin is Martin McDonagh’s best film to date. It’s my vote for Best Original Screenplay, but McDonagh’s direction is just as noteworthy. The cinematography, editing, score and performances are all excellent. Colin Farrell arguably gave a career-best performance in After Yang and then maybe out-did himself here. But it’s not just Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, and Kerry Condon are all fantastic as well. They tap into the film’s simple conflict impeccably, which is a nice sleight of hand, because it doesn’t take long for that simplicity to transform into this nuanced look at isolation and how to cope with loneliness. Tonally, McDonagh brilliantly balances out humor with an emotional underbelly that strikes quite potently by the end. Click here to listen to our full review.
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4. The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg’s best film in years, and it’s one that he’s been building toward for over 40 years now. This isn’t the first time he’s tackled this material. You can trace his upbringing all the way back to Close Encounters of the Third Kind before its even more prominently in films like E.T. and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. When filmmakers started this recent trend of making movies about their childhood, it’s almost as if it was tailor-made for Spielberg. And he did not disappoint with The Fabelmans. It’s rich in emotion and complexity. It’s stunningly well crafted (or maybe not stunning because it’s Spielberg and he’s the 🐐). It avoids schmaltzy sentimentality. It’s one of his funniest films to date. It has one of his very best endings. I mean, what else can you say? It’s Spielberg at his best. Click here to listen to our full review.
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3. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a remarkable achievement on all fronts. It’s one of the most inventive films in years. It’s a whole ride narratively and tonally. It’s one of the most emotionally captivating films of 2022 (for me, it’s perhaps *the* most moving film of the year). Michelle Yeoh is phenomenal in the lead role, especially when you consider just how internalized and subtle it is. The story of Ke Huy Quan is one thing, and that alone is so endearing and poignant, but my god does he deliver a truly striking performance. He’s genuinely great and deserving of being called the Best Supporting Actor of the year. Stephanie Hsu is equally enthralling in her performance. And then there’s the writing and directing of the Daniels duo, which is nothing short of astounding. What they achieve here through sublime editing and storytelling should be taught in classrooms. They’re somehow able to weave several different narrative threads, from various multiverses, into one seamless story about a family reuniting and fighting through their differences. Never have I been so moved about a rock falling over a cliff. How they did they pull that off!? Click here to listen to our full review.
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2. Tár
Todd Field’s Tár is the most provocative film of 2022. It’s a film that wonderfully questions our allegiance to Lydia. Because of Field’s lavish writing and directing, we know that she’s innocently a victim of internet manipulation. However, the way she treats others around her, with no regard for the ramifications of her actions, we start to question her motives and what she’s truly capable of. There’s a fascinating duality at the core of this film that evokes a complex ambiguity. Which on its own terms is thought-provoking, but it’s even more alluring thanks to Cate Blanchett’s striking performance. Michelle Yeoh is my pick for Best Actress, but I’m not going to argue with you if you choose Blanchett. Click here to listen to our full review.
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1. Aftersun
Charlotte Wells. Remember the name. She may not win the Oscar (congrats to Papa Spielberg on this third!), but she gave the best direction of 2022. Aftersun is a movie about reflection. It’s Wells, through the character of Sophie in the film, reconciling with her memories of her father and the sorrow that he was trying to hide from her while they were on vacation celebrating her 11th birthday. So, naturally, the film is structured through Sophie (as a young adult) watching footage she had captured with her camera, symbolically alluding to Wells’ desire for cinema. But even further, much of the cinematography here is shot to emphasize reflection. Whether it be a mirror or the glass off a TV, we see these characters often outside the frame, but inside some sort of reflection. Aftersun is without question one of the best shot films of the year, and it almost exclusively thrives on incisive and purposeful framing and composition. Then there’s the performances by Paul Mescal and Frankie Curio, who are both excellent here. The score will have you weeping by the end of the film. In addition to a needle drop in those final scenes that will rip you apart. The sophistication and maturity of this film is so grand that I refuse to believe this is a directorial debut. Wells and her team deserve the world. Click here to listen to our full review.
To round out my Top 20, here is the rest of my list:
11) Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
12) RRR
13) Women Talking
14) Babylon
15) Nope
16) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
17) Decision to Leave
18) The Batman
19) Broker
20) Avatar: The Way of Water
Let us know what you think. Do you agree or disagree? We’d like to know why. Leave a comment in the comment section below or tweet us @InSessionFilm.
To hear us discuss our InSession Film Awards and our Top 10 Best Movies of 2022, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or you can listen below.
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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 516 (Part 1)
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