Moving Pictures

A peek at the best of films of 2022

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

You might not have heard of the Music City Film Critics’ Association, but I’m proud to be a founding member of the group which celebrates its 5th birthday in February of 2023, just in time for another awards season.

The association is loosely organized around various screenings and local film festivals and events, but mostly we exist to add our take to the conversations about the best films of the year every awards season. I’m getting my nominations together for my favorites of 2022 and I wanted to share that process — and some of my picks — with all of you.

The MCFCA has asked me to turn in my personal nominations by the end of the year. All the critics will turn in their favorites in every category, and after the totals are tallied, the top nominations in each category will become our official ballot. We’ll all scramble to see the films we may have missed during the year, we’ll argue on Twitter about why our original nominations were better, and then we’ll cast our final votes for MCFCA’s 2022 winners. The results go out to the industry press where we hope to have some impact on who wins those little gold statues.

Here’s a selection of my personal nominations — so far — for MCFCA’s 2022 awards picks:

Best Picture — Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is a mind-bending, multiverse-jumping dramatic comedy about love and fate and family. It’s the most unique film of the year, and it’s the best film of the year.

Best Director — Daniels for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most original movies I’ve seen, well, at the movies, ever. Right now it’s my pick for the top film of the year and that means it also gets a nod for the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert).

Best Actor — Brendan Fraser in The Whale

The Whale movie is overrated and somewhat controversial, but in my estimation, it includes some of the best performances of the year. Brendan Fraser’s feature film comeback is the biggest buzz of the award’s season, and he’ll likely win scores of prizes. And, so far, this is my favorite performance by an actor in 2022.

Best Actress — Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh is a movie legend. And her star turn in the best movie of the year finds her delivering a remarkable performance that vacillates between comedy and drama, and even allows this queen of martial arts cinema to show off some of her signature moves.

Best Supporting Actor — Mark Rylance in Bones and All

Bones and All is really good, but what really makes it stick to your ribs is the haunting presence of veteran actor Mark Rylance as the creepiest character in movies in 2022.

Best Supporting Actress — Hong Chau in The Whale

Brendan Fraser is getting lots of shine for his portrayal of Charlie in The Whale . But, don’t sleep on Hong Chau’s near perfect performance as Charlie’s best friend and nurse, Liz.

The Jim Ridley Award — Elvis

The MCFCA’s Jim Ridley award is named for the late, beloved Nashville Scene film critic and editor. The award honors the project or person that best represents Nashville or Tennessee, and, for me, Elvis is the obvious pick this year. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic featured a star who didn’t look like its subject, and a director who’s made a career of putting style before substance. My hopes were low for this one, but Austin Butler and Luhrmann more than exceeded my expectations, delivering an entertaining new take on an icon.

Add @mcfca615 to your film Twitter follows. We’ll be announcing our official winners on Jan. 9.

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.