2022 hasn’t exactly been the greatest year for movies. There have been a number of really good movies, but there have been just as many bad ones. What has really stood out to me this year, though, was how good the acting has been, even in some of the movies that haven’t been so good. Good performances can make a bad movie a little bit better, but great performances can elevate already good movies to all new heights. What makes 2022 different than most years is the number of excellent FEMALE performances. In an industry that’s heavily male-dominated, women have to work even harder to get recognized. There are going to be some solid male performances on this list, but it’s the WOMEN that are carrying 2022 in so many ways. Let’s get right into it.
Best Breakout Performance: Kali ‘K.O.’ Reis: Kaylee – Catch The Fair One
This one surprised me the most. Kali Reis is a Native American boxer who has multiple world championships under her belt. I tend to be very skeptical of first-time actors, but Ms. Reis knocked it out of the park here. Kali plays a down-on-her-luck boxer whose sister had been abducted by human traffickers, so she sets out to find what happened. It’s a simple premise, but it’s one that’s quite effective. Part of what makes Kali’s performance so good, is because Kali is an advocate for missing and murdered indigenous women and children, so she takes issues like this personally, and it’s reflected in her performance. It’s raw, powerful, and incredibly natural. K.O. has been getting recognized for her performance in this movie and for good reason. She’s the heart and soul of the film. I don’t think it would’ve worked as well if she wasn’t a part of it.
Colin Farrell: The Penguin – The Batman
If I didn’t already know that Colin Farrell was playing the Penguin in Matt Reeve’s The Batman, I wouldn’t recognize him here. Colin is distinctively Irish, but you don’t hear any of that in the Penguin. While the prosthetics definitely help, Colin just disappears in this performance, making the Penguin one of the most intimidating and powerful characters in the movie. Sure, he doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but whenever Penguin is on screen, he steals it. Colin is so good here, that he’s getting his own show as the Penguin. That’s how amazing the character is. But Colin isn’t the only great performer in this movie:
Zoe Kravitz: Selena Kyle – The Batman
Catwoman is an integral part of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery. She’s essentially Batman’s equal, but her moral code isn’t nearly as strict. She’s more of an anti-hero than a straight-up villain. There have been many great women who have played the character, but Zoe Kravitz brings a certain flair to the character that we haven’t seen before. She goes toe-to-toe with Batman without blinking an eye. Zoe can not only handle the physicality that the role requires, but she handles the emotional weight of the character almost better than anybody who has played Catwoman.
Austin Butler: Elvis Presley – Elvis
Despite what a lot of people have said over the years, nobody is born to play a certain role. Nobody. That said, there are times when an actor takes a role, you can’t really imagine anybody else playing that. There have been a lot of men that have played Elvis over the years. But the problem is that most of them simply ACT like Elvis. They don’t embody the singer. Austin Butler took the world by storm in Baz Lurhmann’s Elvis. Not only did Butler get the King’s mannerisms down to a tee, he got to the point where he sounds like Elvis singing and speaking normally. Honestly, you’re not watching somebody impersonating Elvis here. You’re seeing Elvis. That is the highest compliment I can give. Butler is electric.
Viola Davis: Nanisca – The Woman King
Viola Davis is a powerhouse actress. She’s absolutely one of the best in the business. But seeing her in The Woman King was a revelation. While the character she plays is fictional, the world and story surrounding the character is real. Davis is COMMANDING in this movie, but at the same time, there are moments where she lets down her guard and it becomes an emotional rollercoaster, not just for the character of Nanisca, but for all the others around her. It certainly helps that Ms. Davis is bolstered by an incredibly strong cast that includes Lashana Lynch and John Boyega, but Davis carries the entire movie on her shoulders. I can’t wait to see this movie again.
Michelle Yeoh: Evelyn Wang – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Michelle Yeoh is one of the most iconic and celebrated action actresses of the last 30+ years. She’s been in so many iconic action movies like Supercop and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but she’s never really had a role that’s truly tested her abilities as an actress. Until now. Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of the most unique movies I’ve seen in years. I can’t really describe the film without spoiling things, but it involves the multiverse. Ms. Yeoh excels at playing against type here. She plays a laundromat owner who is forced into an extraordinary situation. It’s incredibly amusing to see her go from this meek laundromat owner to a total bad-ass half-way through the movie. The character’s journey is unique and funny at times, and Michelle just goes with the flow. It’s a weird movie for sure, but there is a real strong emotional pay-off at the end that is worth the trip. You’ve got to see it to believe it.
Amber Midthunder: Naru – Prey
People were really skeptical when Prey was first announced. This was coming after Disney had bought 20th Century Fox. After the last Predator movie came out, the franchise was not in a good place. Enter Dan Trachtenberg with Prey. The film takes place in 1719 and is centered around a group of Comanche people. There was no reason for the movie to work, considering it was a Hulu exclusive, but it did. Part of why it worked was casting Amber Midthunder in the lead. This movie works incredibly well because Amber put in the work. The character of Naru is ferocious, not just in trying to be more than what her people expect her to be, but also in battling the Predator creature. Amber holds her own and she is incredible. What’s also cool, is that Amber learned how to speak Comanche for the version of the film that was dubbed into Comanche.
Anya Taylor-Joy: Olga – The Northman
Anya Taylor-Joy is one of those actresses that you might not know much about, but when you see her on screen, you’re captivated. She is one of the most interesting actresses to show up in the last decade. I think you can thank Robert Eggers for “discovering” Anya when he cast her in The Witch. She’s been making her way up the ladder in films like Split and shows like The Queen’s Gambit. This woman is a force to be reckoned with. She plays Olga, a forest witch in The Northman, who becomes the love interest to Alexander Skarsgard’s Amleth. It would’ve been easy to make the character a damsel-in-distress, but that’s not what happens here. She teams up with Amleth to take revenge on the people who enslaved her. I would argue that the character is even more devious than Amleth, considering her knowledge of plants and weeds.
Angela Bassett: Ramonda – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
There’s a lot of buzz going around the interwebs about who’s going to be nominated for best actor/actress or supporting actor. Well, Marvel Studios is making the push for Angela Bassett to be nominated, and for good reason. Angela Bassett as Ramonda, the mother of T’Challa and Shuri, is amazing. The character’s obviously had to deal with T’Challa’s sudden passing and with a rising threat from a new enemy. Wakanda Forever is one of the most emotionally heavy movies that the MCU has ever made. Angela Basset, and by extension, Ramonda, is the beating heart of this film. Like Viola Davis in The Woman King, Angela Bassett is surrounded by top-notch talent that includes Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke. Yeah, Ramonda is a supporting character, but she’s incredibly important to this story.
For the first time in God knows how long, it seems that men are taking a back seat when it comes to acting. Yeah, the industry will always be centered around men, but 2022 has proven that women are a force to be reckoned with…and celebrated. While the movies weren’t the greatest this year, the performances were. Bring on 2023.