Ava’s Top Movies of 2022

Movies for me, and I am sure many others, are a great way to receive enjoyment and reduce stress. Just like books, movies bring us into different worlds, with so many different characters and characteristics, we find ourselves relating to characters or plots within movies, which makes us forget our worries and enjoy our own company. There were a ton of amazing movies that came out in 2022, and here are my favorites! 

Don’t Worry Darling 

Don’t Worry Darling, a mystery thriller, directed & produced by Olivia Wilde was released on September 23, 2022, so it was one of the later movies of 2022. My friends and I saw this movie right when it came into theaters. It’s set in the 1950s, and follows a couple, Alice (Florence Pugh), and Jack (Harry Styles), in an idealized community called Victory. In the community the men go to work everyday, working on a top secret mission, and the women stay home and work as the stereotypical housewife. Life seems perfect for the couple, until Alice’s ideal life seems to crack, exposing little things about Victory that are below the surface, which leads to her questioning Victory, and the Victory Project as a whole. This movie has a plot twist I did not expect at all, and the plot as a whole I really enjoyed. 

The Wonder

The Wonder, released September 2, 2022, directed by Sebastián Lelio, is a drama thriller that stars Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, and Kila Lord Cassidy. I am obviously a very big Florence Pugh fan. I remember one random night in September, my mom asked me to watch a movie called The Wonder, and let’s just say I had no idea what I was getting into. The movie is set in the midlands of Ireland, 13 years after the Great Famine. It follows an English nurse Lib Wright (Florence Pugh) who is sent to a rural Irish village to observe a young “fantasy” girl, Anna O’Donnell, who miraculously seems to be able to go 4 months without eating, and be completely healthy. When Lib arrives she is tasked with seeing how the girl is not eating but staying completely healthy. Lib ends up being very dedicated to her task, and uncovers the real secret to this family’s madness. This movie was definitely one of the oddest movies I have seen, but nonetheless very intriguing. 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 

Glass Onion, released September 10, 2022, directed & produced by Rian Johnson, is a comedy mystery that stars Daniel Craig, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Madelyn Cline, etc. September was definitely a good month for movies, at least for me. When I saw Knives Out for the first time I loved it, and once I saw Rian Johnston was making another mystery movie I knew I had to watch it. The movie follows tech billionaire Miles Bron, inviting his friends for a murder mystery getaway on his private Greek island. The trip was supposed to be a lighthearted reunion, but when someone in the group ends up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case. I really enjoyed this movie and seeing how the murder came to be and just watching everything unravel. 

Where The Crawdads Sing

Where The Crawdads Sing, released on July 15, 2022, directed by Olivia Newton, and produced by Reese Witherspoon, was definitely the movie of my summer. This movie stars one of my favorite actresses Daisy Edgar Jones, alongside Taylor John Smith. Where The Crawdads Sing is a coming of age story set in the 1950s. It follows a young girl, Kya, who was raised by the marshlands of the south. When the town’s hotshot is found dead, the town immediately blames Kya, just because she is known as the “weird” marsh girl. This leads Kya to be the prime suspect. This movie had me going from smiling to crying in a minute. The plot was amazing, and the ending was perfect. I have rewatched this movie at least 5 times since I saw it during the summer. 

Redeeming Love 

I watched a lot of movies in 2022, and I liked a lot of them, but one in particular stood out to me. Redeeming Love, released January 21, 2022, directed by D.J Caruso, is a beautiful love story that stars Abigail Cowen, alongside Tom Lewis. The movie, based on the bestselling novel by Francine Rivers, is set in California during the Gold Rush in 1850. It follows Angel, who at the time is the most wanted girl in the local brothel, and Michael, who is a local farmer. Michael is very religious and attends church every day to pray. One day he goes and visits town and that’s where he first lays eyes on Angel. Michael is convinced Angel is the girl he is meant to marry. The movie shows how their relentless love and perseverance clashes with the troubles of the time period. This movie is still one of my favorite movies to this day and was definitely the best movie I watched in 2022. 

2022 was a pretty good year for movies, and I really enjoyed a lot of movies from last year. I will always enjoy watching movies and being able to escape not only into a totally different world, but also into an entirely different story.