My Top 10 Films of 2022 of 2022
The word of the year is “maximalism.”
As we begin to refer to the pandemic in the past tense and crowds return to theaters (a rebuke of 2021’s conventional wisdom that the industry is a relic, as much as the distributors seem intent on ignoring that), the shows on display appear determined to remind audiences why the theatrical experience is necessary. Big screens deserve big movies. And this year’s movies went big. Among the multitude of “love letters to the cinema” we were subjected to this year, the prevailing sense seems to be that if the theaters have to die, they’ll go out with a bang. Even the sequel to the Agatha Christie knockoff turned up the spectacle.
Some years I’m excited to sit down and make this list because I have no idea what will wind up at the top. That was not the case this year. The hardest part was figuring out which movie squeaks in at #10. But the more I’ve sat with this list over the last week, the better I feel about it. This is a quality batch, and I hope you make time for one or two that might be new to you.