The Venice Film Festival 2022 Scorecard

Critics Consensus: Led by the soaring melody of Cate Blanchett's note-perfect performance, Tár riffs brilliantly on the discordant side of fame-fueled power.

Synopsis: From writer-producer-director Todd Field comes TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, the groundbreaking conductor of a major German Orchestra. We meet Tár at the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer

Directed By: Todd Field

Critics Consensus: Featuring some of Martin McDonagh's finest work and a pair of outstanding lead performances, The Banshees of Inisherin is a finely crafted feel-bad treat.

Synopsis: Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN follows lifelong friends Pádraic and Colm, who find themselves at... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan

Directed By: Martin McDonagh

Critics Consensus: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a bone-deep look at a photographer's fight against addiction and the institution responsible for her pain through her gritty lens.

Synopsis: Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nan Goldin, David Velasco, Megan Kapler, Patrick Radden Keefe

Directed By: Laura Poitras

Critics Consensus: A gut-punching contemplation of a woman's immigrant experience, Saint Omer puts a mother on the stand and the audience in the jury box to find humanity in the inhumane.

Synopsis: Saint-Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, Aurélia Petit

Directed By: Alice Diop

Critics Consensus: Other People's Children perceptively explores motherhood outside traditional biological confines and delivers sobering truths with an ample side of levity.

Synopsis: Rachel is 40 years old, with no children. She loves her life: her high school students, her friends, her ex, her guitar lessons. When she... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Victor Lefebvre, Chiara Mastroianni

Directed By: Rebecca Zlotowski

Critics Consensus: Bridging times past with issues that are still current, Blue Jean resonates intellectually and emotionally thanks to thoughtful direction and authentic performances.

Synopsis: England, 1988 -- Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, forcing Jean, a gym teacher, to live a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun

Directed By: Georgia Oakley

Critics Consensus: A Compassionate Spy's personal approach to its real-life story makes the end result mostly compelling despite an uncritical tone that verges on hagiography.

Synopsis: Directed by two-time Oscar® nominated filmmaker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, LIFE ITSELF), A COMPASSIONATE SPY is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Steve James

Critics Consensus: Living sets a high bar for itself in setting out to remake a Kurosawa classic -- and director Oliver Hermanus and star Bill Nighy clear it in triumphant fashion.

Synopsis: LIVING is the story of an ordinary man, reduced by years of oppressive office routine to a shadow existence, who at the eleventh hour makes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke

Directed By: Oliver Hermanus

Critics Consensus: Tilda Swinton² is haunting in the gothic ghost story The Eternal Daughter, an ode to familial female ties that leaves much to unravel after the fog lifts.

Synopsis: An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Joseph Mydell, Carly-Sophia Davies

Directed By: Joanna Hogg

Critics Consensus: Although its subject matter may be hard to stomach, Bones and All proves a deeply romantic and thought-provoking treat.

Synopsis: BONES AND ALL is a story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Critics Consensus: White Noise may occasionally struggle with its allegedly unfilmable source material, but Noah Baumbach succeeds in finding the humorous heart of its surprisingly timely story.

Synopsis: At once hilarious and horrifying, lyrical and absurd, ordinary and apocalyptic, White Noise dramatizes a contemporary American family's attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy

Directed By: Noah Baumbach

Critics Consensus: Bolstered by a powerful lead performance from Trace Lysette, Monica follows a personal quest that's as beautifully filmed as it is emotionally resonant.

Synopsis: Monica is an intimate portrait of a woman who, for the first time in 20 years, returns home to the Midwest to take care of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza, Emily Browning

Directed By: Andrea Pallaoro

Critics Consensus: Justice is served in Argentina 1985, a crusading courtroom drama that shines a light on historically somber times with refreshing levity.

Synopsis: Argentina, 1985 is a feature inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo and their young legal team of unlikely heroes in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ricardo Darín, Juan Pedro Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Laura Paredes

Directed By: Santiago Mitre

Critics Consensus: Ana de Armas' luminous performance makes it difficult to look away, but Blonde can be hard to watch as it teeters between commenting on exploitation and contributing to it.

Synopsis: Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood's most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Evan Williams

Directed By: Andrew Dominik

Critics Consensus: Held together by a killer Brendan Fraser, The Whale sings a song of empathy that will leave most viewers blubbering.

Synopsis: A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins

Directed By: Darren Aronofsky

Critics Consensus: Pearl finds Ti West squeezing fresh gore out of the world he created with X -- and once again benefiting from a brilliant Mia Goth performance.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of X, in this astonishing follow-up to the year's most acclaimed horror film. Trapped... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland

Directed By: Ti West

Critics Consensus: Nuanced performances and patient, perceptive direction infuse Love Life with a poignant perspective on familial love and the secrets that can endanger it.

Synopsis: Taeko and her husband Jiro are living a peaceful existence with her young son Keita, when a tragic accident brings the boy's long-lost father, Park,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama, Atomu Sunada, Hirona Yamazaki

Directed By: Koji Fukada

Critics Consensus: Although it may arguably fail to do justice to its deeper themes, Athena makes for electrifying, hard-hitting viewing in the moment.

Synopsis: Hours after the tragic death of their youngest brother in unexplained circumstances, three siblings have their lives thrown into chaos.

Starring: Dali Benssalah, Anthony Bajon, Sami Slimane, Ouassini Embarek

Directed By: Romain Gavras

Critics Consensus: Master Gardener suggests Paul Schrader might need to find a new patch of creative soil to till, but some strong performances make it difficult to dismiss.

Synopsis: Directed by Academy Award® nominee Paul Schrader based on his original screenplay, MASTER GARDENER follows Narvel Roth (award-winner Joel Edgerton), the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, Quintessa Swindell, Eduardo Losan

Directed By: Paul Schrader

Critics Consensus: Despite reliably solid work from Laura Dern and Hugh Jackman, The Son remains mired in off-puttingly aggressive melodrama.

Synopsis: A cautionary tale that follows a family as it struggles to reunite after falling apart. THE SON centers on Peter (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Kirby

Directed By: Florian Zeller

Critics Consensus: As deeply personal as it is demanding, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths unsteadily walks the line between brilliance and sheer self-indulgence.

Synopsis: Five-time Academy Award®-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu brings us BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. BARDO is an epic, visually stunning and immersive experience... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Griselda Siciliani, Ximena Lamadrid, Iker Sanchez Solano

Directed By: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Critics Consensus: Despite an intriguing array of talent on either side of the camera, Don't Worry Darling is a mostly muddled rehash of overly familiar themes.

Synopsis: Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan

Directed By: Olivia Wilde

Critics Consensus: Tonally unbalanced and burdened with a distracting Shia LaBeouf performance, Padre Pio is one of Abel Ferrara's less divine works.

Synopsis: As events surrounding the first free election in Italy threaten to tear a village apart, Padre Pio struggles with his own personal demons, ultimately emerging... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Cristina Chiriac, Marco Leonardi, Asia Argento

Directed By: Abel Ferrara