The Absolute Best Movie Dramas Of 2022

We all know someone who says that "they don't put out movies for adults anymore." As dismissive as it sounds, we have to admit that there's some truth to it. Where there was once more variety in theaters, movie studios have defaulted to pumping money into safe bets like franchises with IMAX appeal. It's untrue, however, that smaller dramas aren't being made at all. This is particularly noticeable during the fourth quarter of every year — known to industry insiders as  For Your Consideration season, during which studios release their biggest dramas and other Oscar hopefuls. Rather than wait until awards nominations are announced next year, often after the theatrical runs of these films are over, drama fans would do themselves and cinema a favor by trekking out to the theater (when conditions allow) and supporting them directly rather than waiting for them to appear on streaming services. 

"Till" has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet it opened to less than a quarter of a million dollars at the domestic box office. There's a lot of blame to go around, but those who complain about the dominance of superhero movies have also got to give a little to get a little.

Of course, there are also plenty of down-to-earth, realistic character stories that are released all year round directly to streaming services, often to less fanfare than their high-profile television series. Whether or not the latest critical darlings are playing at your nearest cineplex or art house, there's no shortage of "grown-up" movies (read: without superheroes, aliens, or robots — well, mostly) available to watch at home at your convenience. Here are some of the very best dramas of the year to date, most of which are already streaming.

French director Romain Gavras' latest feature "Athena" is an "action-tragedy" built in the shape of a Classical Greek drama. The film opens with one a stunningly choreographed long take that follows protestors against state violence as they raid a police station for supplies and escape to their apartment complex, which has been fortified into a revolutionary stronghold. Once the initial chaos lowers to a simmer, however, "Athena" condenses into an intimate story of a family in pain, reeling after video leaks of a teenage boy being murdered by police. The tragedy puts the victim's three brothers into a deadly conflict. One is the leader of the resistance looking for justice, another is a police officer looking for order, and the third is a gangster who's only looking out for himself.

In addition to Gavras' sterling direction, "Athena" is anchored by compelling performances from lead actors Dali Benssalah and Sami Slimane, whose performances convey so many complex feelings even when given limited dialogue. The history between the characters is so clear that there's little left that needs to be said. Each of them knows they're doomed from the moment the film starts.

"Athena" saw a brief theatrical run in the United States before launching on Netflix, but hasn't seen nearly the level of critical attention that it deserves. Oscar gold will likely elude Gavrain and his cast, but it's nevertheless one of 2022's most riveting dramas.

Cooper Raiff, the writer, director and star of 2020's SXSW best narrative feature-winning "S**thouse," is at it again with another coming-of-age dramedy. "Cha Cha Real Smooth" premiered at 2022's Sundance, where it took home the audience award and was immediately picked up by Apple for release on Apple TV+. Raiff stars as Andrew, a recent college graduate with no job and no prospects who winds up moving back into his parents' home in suburban New Jersey. While picking up work as an emcee at local bar mitzvahs, Andrew meets Domino (Dakota Johnson, also a producer on the film), a woman about a decade his senior who spent her own 20s raising her daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). Andrew begins babysitting Lola and develops an intimate friendship with Domino, but is Andrew really in love, or is he just enamored with the idea of adult life?

Raiff's earnest, even cloying brand of cutesy masculinity may not be for everyone. After all, how can you not be suspicious that a public figure's soft-boy sensitivity is performative when he's literally performing it, crafting it from script to set to screen? But, if you don't hate him and his character immediately, then you're likely to fall in love, enjoying the company of his weird and specific persona like that of your one goofy friend who's a complete mess but is great at parties. Raiff also criticizes his cipher character, investigating his immaturity and hair-trigger judgments of others through the very narrow lens of his life experience. It's a timely story about how the process of growing up is ongoing, particularly when economic roadblocks complicate the path between youthful and traditionally adult lifestyles.

In the second feature from actor-turned-director Hannah Marks, John Cho plays Max Park, a single father who learns that he's developed a deadly illness and likely has only months left to live. Keeping his condition a secret, he takes his young daughter Wally (Mia Isaac) on a cross-country road trip which, unbeknownst to her, is a journey to reunite her with her estranged mother. "Don't Make Me Go" is a heartfelt dramedy that demonstrates John Cho's often overlooked potential as a leading man, but it's also a noteworthy debut for Mia Isaac, who carries an impressive amount of its emotional weight in this, her first feature film. Cho and Isaac play off of each other effortlessly, depicting a complicated, lived-in relationship that only one of them knows is in danger.

"Don't Make Me Go" isn't a flawless film. It opens with a narration promising the audience, "You're not gonna like how this story ends, but I do think you'll like my story." This is truth in advertising; the final minutes of "Don't Make Me Go" are infuriating, but not enough to spoil the entire experience. The time spent with this father and daughter feels appropriately precious and worthwhile. Like any good road trip, the joy is in the journey, not the destination.

"Don't Make Me Go" is streaming at Amazon Prime, which distributed the film after its debut at 2021's Tribeca Film Festival.

We'd enjoy going back in time and telling someone in 1995 that, in the future, Adam Sandler will be one of Hollywood's most under-appreciated dramatic actors. The goofball comedian was snubbed an Oscar nod in 2019 for his already-iconic performance as compulsive gambler Howard Ratner in "Uncut Gems." This year, he's taken another shot at heavy character acting in the Netflix sports drama "Hustle." Here, Sandler plays a down-on-his-luck Philadelphia basketball scout who travels to Spain and discovers what he believes to be the sport's next great star. No one else believes it, however, and the underdog coach and player team will have to take unprecedented measures to get the league's respect.

Structurally, "Hustle" doesn't rewrite the sports movie rulebook, in fact it wears its "Rocky" comparisons on its sleeve. Like that other beloved film about a Philly sports challenger, "Hustle" is a melancholy character story about family, friendship and perseverance through hard times. It's not groundbreaking, but it is very satisfying, fueled by the warm chemistry between Sandler and his young co-star, Juancho Hernangómez. With memorable supporting performances by Queen Latifah, Ben Foster, and Robert Duvall, plus a parade of cameos from the world of basketball, "Hustle" is a treat for fans of sports and cinema alike.

You've probably seen the memes: In "Tár," Cate Blanchett brings to life such a captivating and specific character that audiences simply assumed she was based on a real person. Lydia Tár is one of the most accomplished composers and conductors in the world, a self-absorbed talent who has scratched and clawed her way to the top of her field and left a lot of cuts and bruises in her wake. The film follows her life in the prelude to a career-defining achievement, which coincides with the emergence of a scandal about her personal and professional misdeeds. A tense thriller unfolds as she attempts to keep her life from unspooling in front of her.

Blanchett wows as the title character, throwing herself into the role of a megalomaniacal conductor, simmering with menace in between explosions of glorious bombast. But the actual "master of time" in the film is writer-director Todd Field, directing his first feature since 2006's "Little Children." Field deliberately stretches the story and its runtime almost to its limit, working in opposition to the frenetic, cut-happy pace of a conventional thriller. "Tár" is like watching a demolition in slow motion, from inside the building.

"Tár" arrives in the midst of a cultural reckoning regarding what sorts of personalities we allow to thrive in art and business, and the invisible toll paid by those they bully out of participating. By following the perspective of the accused rather than the victim, "Tár" essentially becomes a "villain episode" in the ongoing drama of the #MeToo movement. It's not out to change the conversation, but it is bound to start one.

Historical war epics are nothing new in Hollywood, in fact it's one of the few genres that tends to appeal equally to general audiences and the Academy. But if you look at the list of blockbuster, Oscar-nominated films about soldiers and generals — your "Bravehearts" and your "Saving Private Ryans" — you probably won't be surprised to find that their casts, directors, and points of view are predominantly white, overwhelmingly American and European, and almost exclusively male.

It's for this reason, among others, that "The Woman King" is such a coup. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood's drama isn't a huge departure from the expected war movie blueprint. The audience is introduced to a period setting, a raw recruit, a rugged general, and a righteous battle against an oppressive foe. What separates "The Woman King" is whose story is being told, and who's telling it, and the film stands as an example as to why those things matter. Set in the 19th-century West African kingdom of Dahomey, it centers around the Agojie, an elite army of female warriors who wages war against both neighboring kingdoms and European slavers. Viola Davis stars as General Nanisca, a brave but weary lifelong soldier who must confront not only her military opponents but the ghosts of her past.

Though it fudges many of the historical specifics in order to flatter its subjects (a common practice in the making of a war movie), "The Woman King" affords its heroines the same proportion of glory, struggle, and tragedy you'd expect from any war film, but from a place and point of view to whom Hollywood has rarely offered it.