Cinema News: Movies Update: ‘Women Talking’ and More

December 23, 2022

By Stephanie Goodman

Film Editor

Hi, film fans!

It's been a busy week on the film desk. That's how it always is at the end of the year when studios rush to bring out their prestige offerings.

Those titles have to include "Women Talking," Sarah Polley's fictionalized drama about the aftermath of sexual assaults in a Mennonite sect. My colleague Nicole Sperling gathered the filmmaker and two of her stars, Rooney Mara and Claire Foy, for a conversation about the film and what a post-#MeToo future might look like.

Like "Women Talking," Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "Bardo" was a much-discussed entry on the fall festival circuit. Carlos Aguilar spoke with the director along with Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro — a.k.a. the Three Amigos — about the film's star, Daniel Giménez Cacho, He is the rare actor to have worked for all three filmmakers, and Cuarón recalled that more than once, he had passed over Giménez Cacho thinking there were better options only to realize "that was really dumb."

Speaking of major performances, the Projectionist columnist Kyle Buchanan has a zippy look at the most hotly contested Oscar race of the season: best actress. He says the field is so stacked with contenders that five slots aren't enough, adding, "Couldn't we swipe a few more from the wan best-actor category, at least?" He sees the front-runners as Cate Blanchett (Tár), Michelle Yeoh ("Everything Everywhere All at Once"), Michelle Williams ("The Fabelmans") Danielle Deadwyler ("Till"), Viola Davis ("The Woman King") and Margot Robbie ("Babylon").

Did you see their films? What was your favorite movie this year and why? Tell us at moviesupdate@nytimes.com and we may include your response in an upcoming issue of Arts & Leisure. Please list your name and the city and state (or city and country, if you're outside the U.S.) where you live.

Have fun at the movies!

Michael Gibson/Orion Pictures

CRITIC'S PICK

'Women Talking' Review: The Power of Speech

Sarah Polley adapts Miriam Toews's novel into a timely political parable with a stellar ensemble cast.

By A.O. Scott

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

'Babylon' Review: Boozing. Snorting. That's Entertainment!?

Damien Chazelle directs Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva in a 1920s story about Hollywood's good and sometimes very bad old days.

By Manohla Dargis

Netflix; Hulu; Netflix; Hallmark Channel

How Well Do You Know Your Holiday Movies?

Between a murderous Santa wielding a sledgehammer and an elf throwing a rave in a corporate mailroom, Christmas movies seem to get more outlandish every year.

By Nancy Coleman

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CRITICS' PICKS

Felix Vratny/IFC Films

CRITIC'S PICK

'Corsage' Review: A Queen in Quiet Rebellion

A transfixing Vicky Krieps plays the Empress of Austria who, at 40, begins to chafe against her predictably cosseted life.

By Manohla Dargis

Janus Films

CRITIC'S PICK

'No Bears' Review: A Film That Critiques Itself

The latest feature from Jafar Panahi, who is currently imprisoned in Iran, explores the subversive power and the ethical limitations of filmmaking.

By A.O. Scott

MOVIE REVIEWS

Ross Ferguson/Number 9 Films/Sony Pictures Classics

'Living' Review: Losing His Inhibition

Bill Nighy stars as a buttoned-up bureaucrat transformed by a grim diagnosis in this drama by the novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted from an Akira Kurosawa movie.

By Beatrice Loayza

DreamWorks Animation

'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' Review: Swashbuckling Again

This animated sequel is a tidy charmer.

By Glenn Kenny

Emily Aragones/Sony/TriStar

'Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody' Review: Her Lonely Heart Calls

This film from Kasi Lemmons is a jukebox retelling of Whitney Houston's parabola from sweatshirts to sequins.

By Amy Nicholson

Scott Garfield/Netflix

'The Pale Blue Eye' Review: Stolen Hearts and Tortured Minds

A tormented detective and a fictional Edgar Allan Poe team up to solve grisly killings in this stuffy period melodrama.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Magnolia Pictures

'Joyride' Review: Irresponsible Adult

Olivia Colman and a precocious preteen embark on a fraught road trip in this affable dramedy.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

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NEWS & FEATURES

Giovanni Rufino/Focus Features

Jim Parsons Takes the Romantic Lead

The Emmy-winning "Big Bang Theory" actor "could've done anything he wanted." Now starring in the tear-jerker film "Spoiler Alert," he's forging his own path.

By Juan A. Ramírez

Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times; Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

How Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim Came to Appear in 'Knives Out' Sequel

A fan of musical theater, Rian Johnson had long hoped to land the two stars. But he was already in the editing phase when they agreed to take part.

By Dave Itzkoff

Lynsey Weatherspoon/Orion Pictures

THE PROJECTIONIST

Inside the Oscars' Best-Actress Battle Royal

Forget the men: A banner crop of leading ladies, including Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett, rule the Oscars' deepest and most dynamic race.

By Kyle Buchanan

Chantal Anderson for The New York Times

'Women Talking' and What a Post-#MeToo Future Looks Like

The director Sarah Polley and cast members Claire Foy and Rooney Mara dig into thorny issues raised by their new film, a drama based on sexual assaults in a Mennonite sect.

By Nicole Sperling

Paramount Pictures

'Babylon' and the Case of the Missing Bob Haircut

Margot Robbie's 1920s silent-screen star wears her locks long and frizzy — and that's by design, as the director Damien Chazelle and hairstylist explain.

By Esther Zuckerman

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Nikos Nikolopoulos/Neon

The Best Genre Movies of 2022

We look at the best in horror, science fiction, action and international films, all available to stream.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli, Erik Piepenburg, Robert Daniels and Devika Girish

PBS	Stream These Three Great Documentaries This month's picks include a look at families coping with cancer, a filmmaker exploring some troubling family history and a director using animation to tell the story of an Afghan refugee. By Ben Kenigsberg

A24	BEYOND THE ALGORITHM 'Stars at Noon,' 'Vortex' and More of This Year's Streaming Gems A look back at some of the finest under-the-radar streaming picks of the year. By Jason Bailey