Hi all. After an inexcusably long hiatus, I’m back with my first letter of 2023!
This is a digest of 11 things I saw, listened to, or read last year, which I feel worthy of a mention. To me, these represent some of 2022’s best or most interesting offerings, plus a few cultural giants that I felt couldn’t be omitted from my media roundup for the year. Enjoy!
Bones and All, directed by Luca Guadagnino
On the surface, Bones and All could appear to fall into the trap of other experimental projects wherein the larger-than-life concept for a film eclipses the execution of the story itself. However, two of the key players behind the camera, director Luca Guadagnino and his long-time collaborator, screenwriter David Kajganich, successfully leverage the overlaps between horror and romance in this bloody love story. Paired with stunning, lingering shots of sites of natural beauty and the film’s angel-faced leads, Guadagnino deftly pairs aesthetic pleasure with stomach-turning gore. He represents the core duality between horror and romance by showing how relationships can be all-consuming, and highlighting the commonality between romance and predatory obsession: an implacable need for intimacy with the person you desire.
Guadagnino therefore shows us how love can bring us to the brink of destruction, mentally and physically, and it is this tension between spiritual connection versus the exigencies of the body (which we see represented here very literally here) that sits at the beating heart of this genre fusion. Our sanguine lovers—played by the mesmeric Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet—are met with an indomitable supporting performance from Mark Rylance and a brief but chilling appearance from Chloë Sevigny. Impeccable acting from this tight-knit cast make Bones and All more than worth the price of a cinema ticket, though some viewers may want to abstain from their usual snacks.
Unspooled with Amy Nicholson and Paul Scheer
This podcast is helmed by film critic Amy Nicholson and actor and comedian Paul Scheer, with each episode focusing on the pair’s dissection of one film, with the ultimate aim of finding the 100 best movies ever made to send into outer space. The hosts’ friendly dynamic offers a comfortable context for all of their discussions, with this inviting atmosphere making their critical discussions of film feel accessible to any listener. I would especially recommend the episodes on Heat, The Dark Knight and Midsommar, which show the breadth of the discussion still to be had about films that have already seen vast amounts of scrutiny and cultural dissection.
Crush, directed by Sammi Cohen
This high-school rom-com stands out from some of its competition this year, for a few reasons. Refreshingly diverse in its casting and characters, Crush is driven by the undeniable chemistry between leads Rowan Blanchard (Paige) and Auli'i Carvalho (AJ). Following on from the success of other teen comedies, the film’s script doesn’t sideline its adult characters and makes use of veteran comedic actors like Megan Mullally and Aasif Mandvi to provide some real belly-laugh moments. Overall, Crush represents a genuinely funny, hopeful coming-of-age queer film—not unlike the much beloved Heartstopper, also released this year—and more than belies its unassuming title.
Skinty Fia, Fontaines D.C
Skinty Fia is Dublin rock group Fontaines D.C.’s most commercially successful album to date, reaching number one in album charts in Ireland, Scotland and the UK. Its release was preceded by two powerhouse singles: “Jackie Down the Line” and “I Love You” which, to me at least, did slightly eclipse the rest of the album. Despite this, Skinty Fia demonstrates the band’s consistent strength in churning out lyrics that seem to seethe, but don’t always satisfy the listener’s desire for a full-on eruption of anger. With consummate ease, Fontaines D.C. are able to hit right at the heart of a political issue without straying into the ostentatious. This quiet anger builds throughout Skinty Fia, before breaking into the ebullition that defines "I Love You”, the album’s penultimate and, in my opinion, best track. Though the two previously named singles are by far this project’s standouts, ‘Big Shot’ and ‘Nabokov’ also warrant a mention. This album offers a bold demonstration of the band’s youthful, simmering energy and the group’s impressive early command over their own genre.
The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves
To me, the best thing about Matt Reeves’ The Batman is how much I enjoyed watching it, as the director opts for total gothic extravagance in order to inject some fun into an increasingly bloated franchise. Reeves’ previous films include Cloverfield (2008), the acclaimed Let Me In (2010) and the latter two films in the Planet of the Apes reboot series. Reeves’ vision for Gotham and its anti-hero sees him close in on Batman’s obsessive style of investigation, as he stalks through and surveils a city in spiritual and physical decay. Unsurprisingly, The Batman feels somewhat owing to Nolan’s elemental trilogy, the echoes of which can be seen in the film’s gloomy, pessimistic atmosphere and lead Robert Pattinson’s lowered register, which seems to have become a staple for any new Batman iteration. A distinct, if perhaps slightly overused, motif from composer Michael Giacchino reinforces the film’s eldritch flair. Some key distinctions are Reeves’ cutting back on street fights in favour of mind games, swapping Christian Bale’s philandering for Pattinson’s smudged eyeliner and sulking, and leaving behind Heath Ledger’s seminal Joker for Paul Dano’s take on The Riddler. Zoë Kravitz’s irrepressibly seductive Catwoman also enters the mix of supporting characters that are introduced to try and tie together the threads of the three-hour story. Overall, despite a wobbly overarching design, The Batman offers enough of its own spectacle and set-pieces to sidestep Nolan’s shadow into, well, its own murkier, more stylised shadows. The Dark Knight trilogy is, in may ways, an impossible act to follow; Reeves’ attempt, however, is eccentric enough to be worth a watch for any long-time Batman devotee.
Mike’s Mic
It was the tour de force three-part video essay on Pretty Little Liars that first led me to Mike’s Mic, the YouTube channel run by Australia comic knockout Michael Messineo. Drawing heavily on pop culture, memes and Twitter references in his editing and commentary, Messineo personally saved the word ‘slay’ for me from the depths of internet cringe. For me, it is his unapologetic, unabashed appreciation for pop culture that truly sets him apart from a pool of comedic YouTubers who too often draw on an exasperation with being chronically online as their sole source of humour. Instead, Messineo embraces this side of himself, and charges head-first into every commentary with a self-aware, exaggerated enthusiasm. His endless capacity for humour (no moment feels too small or unworthy for one of his trademark looks or gestures) provided me with a lot of close-to-tears laughter in 2022. Mike’s Mic might not be for everyone but, to quote the man himself, “if you get it you get it, if you don’t you don’t”.
The Rest is Politics with Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart
For a solid roundup of the ongoing circus that is British politics, and key updates on select international affairs, I have found The Rest is Politics (TRIP) to be a great companion on my morning commute. Despite the fact that the hosts, former Conservative politician Rory Stewart and ex-director of comms and strategy for Tony Blair Alistair Campbell, hold political views which often don’t align with my own, I enjoy the men’s mis-matched couple dynamic and their veteran insights into the goings-on of Westminster. Listening to TRIP has helped me feel more informed than ever this year, which feels especially important as a relatively young voter who often feels the pulls of apathy after twelve years of the Tories. Some standout guests from this year include Mark Drakeford, first minister of Wales, and Julia Gillard, former Australian prime minister. To anyone considering tuning in, one of the things I most enjoy about listening to TRIP is hearing the two warring sides ‘disagree agreeably’. The duo offer a percipient interpretation of today’s politics and provide differing perspectives without resorting to the petulance and name-calling of some of their cabinet contemporaries.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
This probing memoir from Jennette McCurdy is a darkly comic triumph. Blending personal traumas with a sardonic wit, McCurdy takes the reader through a childhood defined by her mother’s emotional abuse, through to fame and adolescence and the marks it left on her in adult life. A very strong trigger warning is needed for anyone who suffers with issues around weight, eating disorders or OCD, as this book takes the reader through every stage of McCurdy’s tortuous struggles with mental health. Nonetheless, McCurdy offers an impressive debut work that, much like the former-actress-turned-writer, defies and openly rejects clear categorisation.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Short but by no means sweet, Small Things Like These is Keegan’s writing at its finest. Brief but calculating prose pulls the reader into a subdued Irish town, following the seemingly mundane life of its family-man protagonist. However, the capacity for harm by state-sanctioned institutions becomes quickly interwoven with the everyday story of a father trying to finish his work before Christmas. As his path becomes crossed with that of a young stranger, the horrors behinds the veil of daily life in rural Ireland throughout the latter half of 20th century are brought into a harsh, unwavering light by Keegan. A subtle dread creeps up on the reader as we explore an abusive secret wilfully kept by a community, as the capacity for ‘small things’ to consume us entirely becomes increasingly evident. A slim book of only 128 pages, I could not recommend Keegan’s latest work enough—indeed, it shows how, sometimes, slight and subtle storytelling can resonate far more with a reader than anything grandiose or epic. Although technically published in late 2021, I couldn’t not include this one on my list.
Top Gun: Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski
A blockbuster in every sense of the word, I’ve watched Top Gun: Maverick four or five times this year already, at least, and couldn’t recommend it more. Just like with Reeves’ The Batman, here director Jospeh Kosinski was tasked with following in the footsteps of a pop culture colossus. In this instance, though, Top Gun: Maverick, despite being thematically lighter, soars ahead of its predecessor. Some stunning flight sequences matched with Tom Cruise’s typical incursions into edge-of-the-seat action brought this film to resounding critical and commercial success—and with good reason. This is the perfect choice for a film night with friends or family, and both preserves some of the nostalgia attached to the original and successfully moves the story on for new audiences.
Holy Fvck, Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato’s most recent album, Holy Fvck, has been self-described as a return to form, after Lovato hosted a funeral for her pop music in early 2022. To start, the entire album is a flirtation with stylistic and lyrical provocation. Lovato’s choices throughout are tendentious, with confrontation seeming to be the form through which Lovato feels most comfortable reclaiming her voice and sharing her views on the world. The singer uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, and confronts how the media has treated her as both a queer and sexual symbol throughout the project. This is seen most noticeably in track four, “Eat Me”, which features American indie pop artist Royal & the Serpent. On the track, Lovato prods the listener for a direct answer, asking, “Would you like me better if I was still her?/ Did she make your mouths water? Ugh”. Lovato similarly confronts false well-wishers in “Help Me”, which serves as a sort of companion track to “Eat Me”. On “Help Me”, Lovato’s voice is well-matched with supporting vocals from Emily Armstrong, lead singer of American hard rock band Dead Sara, with Armstrong also co-writing another favourite of mine from this album, “Bones”, which is a fun and straightforward lust song with a rock edge.
If the title wasn’t enough of a giveaway, throughout Holy Fvck Lovato makes it clear that the iconography and tenets of her faith will not be excluded from this bold re-imagining of herself, a theme which carries on from her last project, Dancing with the Devil…the Art of Starting Over. As much can be taken from the BDSM-style crucifixion she imagines for herself on the front cover, replacing Christ with an image of herself, bound in leather. This glaringly addresses the role that religion has had in public discussions of Lovato’s relationships and sexuality, which dates back to the purity ring era of Disney Channel stars in the 2000s. With this album cover, Lovato takes an iconoclastic stance that re-centres herself in the discussion.
To speak generally, lyrical subtlety is not a trademark of Lovato’s music. In particular, recent projects show the singer’s preference for bare-faced honesty in her music serves as a form of lyrical catharsis (“Dancing with the Devil”, “Sober”, “Melon Cake”, “Anyone” all spring to mind as good examples of this). While this unflinching directness works well on some tracks—the mentioned “Eat Me”, the tender and harrowing “29”, “City of Angels”, “Substance” and lead single “Skin of My Teeth”—it comes across somewhat hamfisted on others, namely “Happy Ending”, “Heaven”, “Feed” and “4 Ever 4 Me”. Cutting these four songs would make the project more tonally cohesive and strengthen it artistically. As a long-time fan of Lovato’s, this is probably my favourite album from her yet. This is because, behind the album’s visual boldness and excess, and the often combative tone of some of the records, Lovato—who has very publicly struggled with her own self-image, horrendous trauma and mental health—seems, at last, to be really having fun with her music.
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Thank you for reading this digest of my picks from 2022.
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Speak soon.