2022 saw streaming giant Netflix continue to make major waves in the world of original movies. In 2021 the service committed to releasing a new movie every week, and this continued into 2022, with Netflix releasing more movies than in any prior year. With so many releases, it can be difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff, but some of Netflix’s productions are among the best movies of the year.
The service had a somewhat turbulent year, having to deal with declining Netflix subscriber numbers and the ongoing debate over how streaming releases should fit into Hollywood productions. Major bids for awards and prestige like Bardo and White Noise met with a mixed reception from critics. However, Netflix continued to excel at producing and making available types of content that traditional studios have neglected, such as foreign-language films and adult-oriented animation. This means that many of Netflix’s best movies of the year are among its most unusual.
10 Hustle
Uncut Gems showcased Adam Sandler’s ability as a dramatic actor, and he’s back in another sports-centered drama in Hustle. In Hustle Sandler plays a more sympathetic, sometimes idealized NBA talent scout, Stanley Sugarman, who discovers a raw prospect on the streets of Spain and risks his career in an attempt to make him a basketball star. In addition to Sandler, Hustle features real NBA players delivering surprisingly strong performances and is a great pick for fans of inspirational sports dramas.
9 Blonde
One of the most divisive films of the year, Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde turned off some viewers with its brutal depiction of sexual exploitation in mid-century Hollywood. However, the film is also a virtuoso display of cinematography, using many different techniques to create a disorienting and affecting visual spectacle, and features a compelling central performance by Ana de Armas. It’s definitely worth giving Blonde a try while keeping in mind that it isn’t all that accurate to Marilyn Monroe’s life.
8 Apollo 10 1/2
Richard Linklater’s animated, semi-autobiographical film Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is an example of the type of odd creator-driven projects that are perfect for Netflix. Ostensibly a childish fantasy about a young boy becoming the first person to land on the moon, Apollo 10 1/2 is really a rambling reminiscence on Linklater’s experience growing up in Houston in the 1960s. The mostly plotless nature of the film may try some viewers’ patience, but for a movie that’s mostly an older man (voiced by Jack Black, in one of his most transformative performances) recounting the ordinary events of his childhood, it’s surprisingly entertaining.
7 Darlings
Alia Bhatt co-starred in one of Netflix’s best-acquired movies from 2022, RRR, and in Darlings she takes center stage as a young woman who conspires to get revenge on her abusive husband with the help of her mother. The movie manages to remain fun and colorful while dealing with the serious subject matter. Darlings became one of Netflix’s biggest non-English hits, and it’s not hard to see why.
6 Wendell & Wild
Wendell & Wild comes from the creative dream team of legendary animator Henry Selick and modern horror auteur Jordan Peele. The twisty story sees a young girl partnering with the eponymous pair of demons to try to bring back her parents from the dead and stop the building of a private prison. The result is a fun, vibrant horror-comedy supported by Wendell & Wild’s voice cast and a soundtrack full of punk rock classics. Wendell & Wild occasionally bites off more than it can chew in terms of issues and plot elements but remains a good time with an inventive visual style throughout.
5 The Wonder
Featuring a stirring pair of central performances from Florence Pugh and Kila Lord Cassidy, The Wonder is an adaptation of Emma Donaghue’s novel about a young girl who claims to not need to eat or drink in 19th-century Ireland. The Wonder gets off to a slow start but gradually becomes a gripping drama about religious faith and exploitation. Sebastian Lelio’s direction helps to bring the story to life while conveying tremendous emotional nuance, all the way until The Wonder’s resonant ending.
4 Descendant
In addition to feature films, Netflix continues to have an impressive library of documentaries, and its most acclaimed this year was Margaret Brown’s Descendant. The documentary chronicles the attempts to discover and raise the Clotilda, the last ship to carry slaves to the United States. Featuring beautiful imagery amidst discussion of some of the ugliest moments in American history, Descendant is a vital film on the ongoing impact of slavery and the possibility of healing.
3 The House
Part film and part series of animated shorts, The House is a dark narrative about three generations living in a house that seems to have a mind of its own. Featuring vocal talents such as Mia Goth and Helena Bonham Carter, The House follows a nightmarish logic that makes it one of the most unique productions available on Netflix. The House’s true meaning provides a trenchant commentary on capitalism and the way it affects the human psyche, all with evocative stop-motion animation.
2 All Quiet On The Western Front
One of Netflix’s best movies this year was the first German-language adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front. The film features some of the most gruesome battle scenes this side of Saving Private Ryan, and striking shot composition from director Edward Berger that highlights the machine-like nature of twentieth-century warfare. It’s not an easy watch, but All Quiet on the Western Front is a rewarding and necessary film.
1 Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
In a year with Disney failing to capitalize on the same material, Gullermo del Toro produced one of his best films in a stop-motion animated version of Pinocchio. Featuring a stacked voice cast, del Toro’s Pinocchio brings the story back to its roots as an Italian instructional tale, while transporting the action to the fascist 1940s. The result is a movie that’s dark while being overtly edgy and captures all the weirdness of the source material alongside very modern-feeling political commentary. Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a treat for viewers of any age and an example of Netflix’s creative freedom at its best.
