Fall 2022 Movie Preview

If you thought the summer movie pickings were pretty lean this year, you’re not alone – notwithstanding the proclamation of movie-industry pundits that going to the movies is back, baby! Hollywood may have had a good summer, box office wise, but didn’t it seem like the only movie out there that anyone was talking about was Top Gun: Maverick? That’s no knock on Maverick, which was way better than it had any business being and hands down the most fun I’ve had in a movie theater so far this year. The fact is, though, that it didn’t have a whole lot of competition at its level, give or take a forgettable Marvel property here or yet another totally superfluous Jurassic Park World sequel there. And the counterprogramming options were even sparser, notwithstanding the modest charms of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On or Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (both of which I unfortunately missed in theaters).

Well, fear not, fellow movie lovers, for fall is here – and with it, the usual overflowing cornucopia of what, for lack of better phrase, I’ll call movies for grown-ups. Movies that require more active engagement but promise richer intellectual and/or emotional rewards in exchange. Movies that don’t need eye-popping FX (although there are a few of those, too) to draw us to a theater. In short, movies that make us truly excited to go to the movies.

Of course, guessing which of them will hit and which will miss is a fool’s game, even for those films that have shown at festivals (Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Telluride, etc.). Festival buzz doesn’t necessarily translate into box office or awards season success, and there’s nearly always at least one major sleeper in every season. Nevertheless, based on what I know, here are the 15 films I’m most looking forward to this fall:

THE WOMAN KING - in theaters now

I have some qualms about the way this film appears to rewrite the history of the Agojie (aka the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female warrior army in 19th century west Africa), although it certainly can’t be any worse than what Hollywood’s done to many another chapter of history. But who can say no to watching Viola Davis kick ass as the leader of said army? Plus it’s directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Beyond the Lights, Love and Basketball), who’s long overdue for broader mainstream recognition.

BROS - in theaters September 30

We’ve already had one near-perfect gay rom com this year (Fire Island), and I very much doubt anything can top it (no pun intended). However, this is the bigger-name, bigger-budgeted, more “mainstream” production that’s actually getting a theatrical release, and as such, seems like exactly the kind of movie to go see with a bunch of your friends (gay, straight, or anything in between or off the spectrum). Probably helps if you like Billy Eichner, who both wrote the movie and stars as the main character, an artsy type drawn to a hottie (Luke MacFarlane) he can’t quite believe he’s clicking with.

AMSTERDAM - in theaters October 7

Only Murders in…Amsterdam? Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington star in David O. Russell’s mystery-comedy-caper as a trio of BFFs who find themselves the prime suspects of a murder in the 1930s. That’s all I know, despite a snazzy-looking trailer showcasing a formidable if somewhat randomly assorted cast that includes Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts and Alessandro Nivola (both dimming down their natural hotness as a pair of menacing detectives), Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, and Taylor Swift. The movie also basically confirms that Margot Robbie has become the new Jennifer Lawrence in terms of her ubiquity – though she should watch out for Anya Taylor-Joy, who apparently plays her sister(?) in this.

TÁR - in theaters (probably limited release first) October 7

Cate Blanchett got raves at Venice for her performance as a fictitious world-famous conductor whose past begins to catch up with her. Directed by Todd Field (In the Bedroom, Little Children), it promises a dark but riveting psychological drama. Noémie Merland (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and Nina Hoss (the best German actress you’ve never heard of – see Phoenix stat if you haven’t) play Tár’s assistant and wife, respectively.

DECISION TO LEAVE - in theaters (probably limited release first) October 14

Park Chan-wook (best known here for Oldboy and The Handmaiden) directs this mystery/thriller/romance about a detective who falls for a woman (Tang Wei) who may have murdered her husband. Hitchcockian vibes, or just fucked-up PCW vibes? Either way, count me intrigued, especially since I haven’t seen Tang in anything since her sensational 2007 debut in Lust, Caution.

AFTERSUN - in theaters (probably limited release first) October 21

Earlier this year, after I proudly cited my 2012 post in which I pointed to Andrew Garfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hiddleston as actors to watch in the coming years, some friends asked me if I had my eye on anyone new now. Well, I give you Paul Mescal, a young Irish actor I’ve been monitoring with interest since his soulful turn in the 2020 Hulu miniseries adaptation of Sally Jenkins’ Normal People. He had a bit part in last year’s The Lost Daughter, but this year he has no fewer than three features coming out, including this one, in which a woman recalls a vacation she took as a young girl with her father (played by Mescal) and reflects on the difference between how she viewed him then vs. now. Cannes loved it.

N.B: Mescal’s other films this fall include God’s Creatures, where he plays Emily Watson’s troubled, probably rapey son, and Carmen, a contemporary musical retelling of the Bizet opera.

ARMAGEDDON TIME - in theaters (probably limited release first) October 28

Alfonso Cuarán’s Roma casts a long shadow. Following last year’s Belfast from Kenneth Branagh and The Hand of God from Paolo Sorrentino, we have more directors turning their lenses on their boyhood years. Steven Spielberg may be the most famous of this season, but the perpetually underrated James Gray (Ad Astra, The Lost City of Z, The Immigrant, and my personal favorite Two Lovers) also tries his hand at the genre with this tale of a young Jewish boy growing up in 1980s Queens. Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong play his parents, and Anthony Hopkins and Tovah Feldsuh his grandparents. (In the weirdest casting switch ever, Hopkins replaced Robert De Niro.) Also, Jessica Chastain has a cameo as – wait for it – Maryanne Trump? Warmly received at Cannes, though the Europeans have tended to like Gray more than we do.

CALL JANE - in theaters October 28

When this film, along with the separate documentary The Janes, premiered at Sundance earlier this year, critics commented on their timeliness – but I don’t think anyone quite realized just how goddam timely they would be. Like the doc, this film focuses on the Jane Collective, a network of women who helped other women get abortions in the pre-Roe v. Wade days. Elizabeth Banks stars as a housewife who ends up joining the network; Sigourney Weaver costars.

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER - in theaters November 11

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is dead, long live T’Challa. Glad they didn’t recast him, but very curious to see how the franchise moves on without him. At least the rest of the crew – Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, and Winston Duke (though no Daniel Kaluuya, due to filming conflicts) – are all returning, as is Ryan Coogler as director.

THE FABELMANS - limited release November 11, nationwide Nov. 23

Spielberg’s Roma (see above), but seems to owe just as much to Cinema Paradiso in the centrality of movies to the protagonist’s coming of age. We'll see the source of Spielberg’s demons, fascinations, and fixations (broken homes, lost boys, etc.), albeit thinly fictionalized and, I assume, more than slightly airbrushed. Nonetheless, the film got a rapturous reception at Toronto; Spielberg is nothing if not a master of pulling the heartstrings so effectively you don’t mind the manipulation. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play little-Spielberg’s parents, Judd Hirsch his uncle, and Seth Rogen as a family friend; if early reviews are any indicator, Williams may finally get her Oscar (after four nominations but no wins). Tony Kushner co-wrote the screenplay with Spielberg.

SHE SAID - in theaters (probably limited release first) November 18

Spotlight meets Me Too (the Harvey Weinstein story, specifically), based on the book by NYT reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan play Kantor and Twokey, and Maria Schrader (respected German actress and director who helmed the Netflix series Unorthodox and last year’s lovely romantic dramedy I’m Your Man) directs. Cast also includes Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, and Samantha Morton. (November 18)

WOMEN TALKING – in theaters (limited release) December 2. I swear the juxtaposition here with She Said is entirely accidental.

Welcome back, Sarah Polley! I wish she would get back in front of the camera more often, but equally happy to have her behind it. This time she’s adapted the novel by Miriam Toews, in which a group of Mennonite women discover they’ve been repeatedly drugged and raped by the men in their Bolivian colony and meet to discuss what they should do. The powerhouse cast includes Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, and Ben Whishaw. The premise sounds better suited to a play than a film, but I trust Polley and her actors to bring it to life.

THE WHALE - in theaters (probably limited release first) December 9

Brendan Fraser caps his comeback with an acclaimed turn as a morbidly obese man who seeks to make amends with his estranged daughter. Director Darren Aronofsky may also be back – or not, as some have criticized his portrayal of obesity as fat shaming. Regardless, Fraser is supposed to be terrific, and the film is sure to be better received than Aronofsky’s last two features, Mother! and Noah.

CORSAGE - in theaters (probably limited release first) December 23

Empress Elisabeth of Austria gets something of the Sofia Coppola-Marie Antoinette-esque treatment (this is a GOOD thing, in my book) only this empress is no lost little girl. Rather, as played by Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island), she’s a jaded pushing-40 woman who knows the deal and is Over. It. Krieps reportedly aces the 19th century DGAF attitude and I am so here for it.

BABYLON - limited release December 25, nationwide January 6

Damien Chazelle returns to La La Land, only this time rewinding to the 1920s, when Hollywood was transitioning from silent to sound films. But this ain’t no Singin’ in the Rain or The Artist. Judging from the equal parts sumptuous and frenetic trailer, it looks more like a cross between Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. While Mexican actor Diego Calva appears to be the protagonist, the film also features Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in comic-satiric mode as fictional movie stars of the period. Hard to tell exactly what tone Chazell is going for - divine decadence, or shades of Sunset Boulevard? However, since he’s three for three with me (Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man were all among my top films of their years) I’m confident he’ll make it work.

Other movies of interest, pending reviews:

THE SON – Florian Zeller’s follow-up/companion (though not direct sequel) to The Father starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, and Anthony Hopkins. Early reviews suggest it’s not a par on The Father, sadly, though the acting is good.

DEVOTION – Based on the true story of two Navy fighter pilots/wing men during the Korean War, one black (Jonathan Majors) and one white (Glen Powell, I assume much less smirky than he was in Top Gun: Maverick). Very promising subject matter, and Majors is an actor on the rise. Early reviews, however, have been a bit tepid.

EMPIRE OF LIGHT – Looks gorgeous (how could it not, with Roger Deakins as the DP) and Olivia Colman is reportedly superb as always, but early reviews of Sam Mendes’ latest have been mixed at best.

GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Supposedly better and tighter than the original. But the only returning character is Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, whom I found to be the weak link of the first one.

WHITE NOISE – Think I should probably read the book first, and Noah Baumbach is hit-or-miss for me. Still, you gotta give him credit for going big with this one.

Should be interested but not really: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS have been tearing it up on the festival circuit and look well set up for major attention this awards season. However, I gotta say I don't really get the appeal of either Martin McDonagh or Ruben Östlund.