Top 10 Films of 2022

Happy New Year folks. With another year in the books, it’s time to reminisce. As the film industry continues to recover from the lasting impacts of the pandemic, going to the cinema really felt like it was back for good in 2022. There was a seemingly endless number of uplifting, awe-inspiring, crowd pleasing titles to entice audiences back to theatres. So many, in fact, that narrowing them down to just 10 is, as ever, an impossible task. But hey, someone’s got to do it.

A few ground rules to start. This list is based on UK release dates. Some of the films listed will feel like holdovers from 2021, but didn’t grace UK cinemas until 2022. Some of my favourite films from London Film Festival, like The Whale & Women Talking haven’t received their wide releases in the UK yet, so they don’t feature here. This also rules out titles like Babylon and Tar, which are 2023 releases here.

And as ever, naming only 10 seems wasteful, given how many brilliant films were released. Here are just a few that didn’t make my 10, but I thoroughly recommend all the same:

• Licorice Pizza

• Turning Red

• Happening

• Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

• The Woman King

• Elvis

• Triangle of Sadness

• Top Gun: Maverick

With all that out of the way, here are my 10 favourite films of 2022.

10) Barbarian

I don’t think I’ve ever gasped as much as I did during Barbarian. It’s one of the most consistently and genuinely surprising movies I’ve ever seen. The first 10 minutes feel fairly conventional, before the film starts peeling back it’s layers, jolting you in a series of unexpected, compelling and terrifying directions. Through a collection of genius casting decisions, smart directorial choices and twists that feel initially jarring but turn out to be thematically essential, Zach Cregger crafts a rollercoaster of a film that you will want to ride again and again.

9) RRR

An absolute masterclass in blockbuster filmmaking that puts most Hollywood efforts to shame. The 3 hour runtime of this Indian action-adventure period epic, complete with several Bollywood dance breaks, flies by. Audacious, jaw dropping set pieces that continually manage to one-up themselves. Visually striking, emotionally driven and dripping with infectious, kinetic energy. I had a big, stupid grin plastered across my face the entire time.

8) Fire of Love

A gorgeous documentary, detailing the lives and work of Katia and Maurice Krafft, a couple of French volcanologists who met, fell in love and spent their lives charting and exploring the most dangerous parts of the earth’s surface. The sumptuous, textured cinematography is breathtaking. It’s genuinely hard to believe that these are images of our planet. You leave the film as infatuated with the majesty, thrill and danger of the volcanoes as you are with the couple’s effortlessly charming love story. If you’re familiar with the Krafft’s story, you’ll be expecting a poignant climax, but even knowing it’s coming couldn’t prepare you for the emotional gut-punch that this film packs.

7) Nightmare Alley

Guillermo Del Toro wowed us with the technical artistry of his stop-motion Pinocchio this year, but it’s his haunting gothic noir that has stayed lodged in my brain since January. Nightmare Alley is everything I love about Del Toro as a filmmaker rolled into one film. Dark, twisted, harsh, beautiful. The production design is lush. Bradley Cooper gives one of his best performances to date. The film feels classical in it’s old-school storytelling sensibilities. The whole thing is just delicious.

6) Aftersun

A stunning debut from Charlotte Wells. The maturity in the direction. The specificity and purpose in every individual shot. Cultivating wonderful chemistry between ‘soft dad’ Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio. The depth in this film’s narrative may take a few goes through to fully reveal itself. But the brilliantly constructed climax is bound to knock you for 6. An indie gem.

5) Nope

Jordan Peele’s latest solidifies his place as one of the most exciting, thought provoking filmmakers working today. Utilising his remarkable eye for instantly iconic imagery, he crafts a film that manages to be chilling, shocking and exhilarating in equal measure. As with all Peele’s work, there is so much subtext lurking beneath the genre conceits. Themes of unresolved trauma, fake news and the gentrification of black imagery on screen are all woven into the narrative so eloquently, making each subsequent rewatch a richer experience. A stark warning about the danger of spectacle, and how our generation’s morbid infatuation with it will be our end.

4) The Worst Person in the World

Joachim Trier’s tender portrait of the messy period of self-discovery that is your twenties. The fragmented story structure beautifully parallels the intense bursts of emotion taking place in Julie’s life. Renate Reinsve’s magnetic performance completely aligns you to a complex, unapologetically difficult character. She is a perfect empathetic mirror, with each of her mistakes reflecting our own flaws back onto us. A film that manages to make the act of cheating on someone feel like the most romantic thing that’s ever happened.

3) Bones and All

Rarely have romance and violence worked together in such perfect harmony. Luca Guadagnino brings his sensitive direction to one of the most emotionally intense road movies I’ve ever seen. Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet are excellent in the lead roles as two outcasts finding release from their isolation in each others company. Mark Rylance gives the most chilling performance of the year. The film is dripping with gore, but never in an exploitative, “shock and awe” sort of way. Still though, this is DEFINITELY not for the faint of heart. I felt a pit appear in my stomach about 10 minutes in, and it stayed for the remainder of the film. But the raw intensity of the love story at it’s centre makes Bones and All an utterly compelling watch.

2) The Banshees of Inisherin

13 years after In Bruges, Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite for this darkly comedic Irish Folk tale. McDonagh’s dialogue is witty, poetic and a treat to hear delivered by actors of this calibre. The gorgeous landscape photography offers a fascinating glimpse into the minds and opposing views of our two leads. Four absolutely pitch perfect performances. Farrell delivers the most complete performance of his career. Kerry Condon manages to steal the whole film. The balance of tone is exquisite, treading seamlessly between roaringly funny and tragic. It’s bizarre that a film about betrayal, loneliness and mortality could be funny, let alone one of the funniest films of the year. And yet, the consistent and genuine laughs never compromise the poignancy of the drama that the narrative is rooted in. In any other year, this would be Number 1 at a canter. But…

1) Everything Everywhere All At Once

Cynics will tell you that there are no new ideas in Hollywood. Originality is dead. In a cinematic landscape where release schedules are dominated by sequels and remakes, it can sometimes feel like the cynics are right. However, every once in a while a film comes along that is brimming with creativity. A film that broadens your horizons. A film that celebrates the art form that we love. This is that film.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a movie that wears it’s influences on it’s sleeves. The homages to The Matrix, to In the Mood for Love, to Ratatouille of all things, are very apparent. Yet, it’s a wholly original film. One of the most original films I’ve ever seen. The level of artistry, technical craft and spectacle achieved on the minuscule budget is frankly ridiculous. The Russian doll story structure, packing a family drama inside an existentialist narrative inside a Hong Kong action movie shouldn’t work. None of this should work. A heartbreaking romance about two people with hot dogs for fingers and an action sequence resolved by landing arse first onto an ‘Employee of the Month’ trophy shouldn’t be able to coexist. But they do. All the imagery, all the ideas swirling around in the ginormous melting pot of creative expression feel earned and necessary and grounded in the real emotion that the film is built around. The enormous heart that sits at the centre of this film/bagel is staggering. Put short, this is a special film. This is a movie that will renew not only your faith in the medium, but in humanity. My undisputed favourite film of the year.

Let me know which films you loved this year in the comments below. Thanks for reading