A24 arguably had their best year ever as a studio in 2022. The obvious angle to take when approaching this is by pointing at the handful of Oscars that Everything Everywhere All at Once steamrolled to on ceremony night – but the depth of quality material from them was nothing to scoff at, either.
It felt like a solid collection of movies that spanned many different genres and tastes. Their horror entries – Ti West’s X and Pearl double-feature, along with Alex Garland’s Men leading the pack – were always interesting, and often exhilarating. A24 also had a few quieter releases that made waves too. Many of them will appear on the list below.
They continue to be the leading pioneers for independent cinema. It’s crazy that they constantly compete with big Hollywood studios for Academy Awards recognition, and now are often beating them. A24 has two Best Picture wins before Netflix has one – and Netflix has been trying their hardest for that coveted award.
A24 toes the line as well as anyone by creating singular visions from the industry’s best storytellers and getting those movies to the largest audiences they can. It’s rare that an A24 movie feels underseen coming out of its theatrical run. I hope they continue on this stretch and challenge studios to push forward with independent, grassroots campaigns for great stories. And these were the 10 best stories A24 told in 2022:
10. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
9. Pearl
8. X
7. Men
Now nearly two years removed from its initial release date, Alex Garland’s Men for A24 feels underrated. A body horror home invasion movie featuring one of Hollywood’s best actresses in Jessie Buckley, the film is a shift in tone and themes from Garland’s previous works, transitioning from stories involving anxiety we have about the advancement of technology, to the societal and gender issues that plague our society. Men movie review
6. After Yang
5. Stars at Noon
4. Bodies Bodies Bodies
Tonally, Bodies Bodies Bodies is an extremely tough film to pull off by Halina Reijn and co-screenwriters Kristen Roupenian and Sarah DeLappe, but they manage to land the plane in a film that feels naturally satirical, yet sympathetic and self-loving. Even at its tensest moments, the film juggles comedy and commentary at a highly successful rate – a quality that even the biggest blockbusters struggle with at times. Bodies Bodies Bodies review
3. Aftersun
Charlotte Wells’ debut movie Aftersun is a juggernaut. Few films demand the time and attention this A24 property does and also delivers on the promise of a deeply resonating ending that will surely endure the test of time and re-watchability. In many ways, Aftersun feels timeless – the rare use of technology or dated material is actually of 20 years past (around the timeframe for our lead character Sophie, played by the wonderful and peppy Frankie Corio, to reminisce the time she spent with her father), and the structural architecture and design of the Turkish resort they stay at is nearly absent. Every frame stays with people, not their surroundings. Aftersun movie review
2. Causeway
Perhaps the best part of Causeway is that it is an unobtrusive star vehicle that lets its two leading performers make choices and show what they are capable of with solid material and chemistry. I’ve been a fan of Brian Tyree Henry’s for quite some time (he’s the standout role in numerous mediocre titles such as Eternals, Child’s Play, and even Bullet Train from earlier in 2022), but he’s never given a performance as multi-dimensional and humanistic as he does in Causeway. It’s a fantastic two-hander that could have been an hour longer and I would have had no complaints. Causeway movie review
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
To put into words how exhilarating Everything Everywhere All at Once is isn’t easy to do. A film unlike any other, it pushes every filmmaking possibility to the brink in 2022. Many films come and go with the wind, but Everything Everywhere All at Once will be in our culture for years – even decades. The phrase “modern classic” doesn’t apply to films very frequently, but this is one of those instances where it feels justified. Everything Everywhere All at Once movie review
Read more lists from our “Best of 2022” section
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