It feels like there’s a great deal of division in the world at the moment. That sense of people being unable to agree about things carries over to the world of film, too. It’s rare to get one movie that most viewers agree is great (or even good), and it’s similarly uncommon to have a highly-criticized movie come out with virtually no viewers defending it.
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Maybe this sort of division has always been a common part of movie-watching, and it’s just social media giving everyone a way to voice opinions publicly that makes filmgoers look more divided. Either way, most films are at least a little divisive, but the following 10 releases from 2022 take it to a whole other level. Each of the following films have numerous fans and detractors, and some have various controversies attached to them.
‘The Whale’
Darren Aronofskyis a filmmaker whose movies often end up being provocative and/or divisive, with his previous film,Mother!, being among the most controversial released in 2017.The Whaleis shaping up to similarly divide audiences, with a story about an obese man’s difficulties in life, including his struggles to connect with his teenage daughter.
The one thing that most seem to agree on is thatBrendan Frasergives a great lead performance, and is already an early award-season contender. However, the film has also beenseen as fatphobic by some, and others havespoken out against Fraser being castand having to wear a fat suit for the role. The conversations around the movie are likely to get more heated as it gets a wider release, guaranteeing it to be one of 2022’s most divisive films.
‘Don’t Worry Darling’
Olivia Wilde’sdirectorial followup toBooksmart(her debut) wasDon’t Worry Darling, which hasn’t received the same sort of wide acclaim its predecessor did. It’s an ambitious movie, and hard to compare toBooksmart, given it’s not a comedy, and instead blends mystery, sci-fi elements, and social commentary into a single movie.
LikeThe Whale,Don’t Worry Darling’slead actor (Florence Pugh) has been praised by most as giving a good performance, but the rest of the movie has split audiences. Some admire its ambition and what it’s trying to say - even if it does so a little clumsily - while others find it to be too much of a mess, andfeel other cast members don’t deliverthe same way Pugh does.
‘Hellraiser’
Hellraiseris a franchise that has a surprising number of sequels. Most are aware of the first movie, which holds up as a classic, yet the sequels generally weren’t as well-received, meaning it’s a series that only the most devoted horror fans are likely to have followed.
The most recent film is a reboot of sorts, and has been better received than the nine sequels the original got. However, not everyone who’s seen this new spin on the supernatural horror series was a fan, with it sitting at a solid but somewhat divided 66% score from critics and an evenmore divided 59% from users on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Thor: Love and Thunderlooked like it would be another slam dunk for the MCU.Thor: Ragnarökwas a huge success, after all, and this newest Thor movie was once again being helmed byTaika Waititi, as the director. Thor also continued to grow as a character in bothAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, so the idea of another comedicThormovie with one of the franchise’s best characters was an exciting prospect.
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It was saddening to find, then, that the latest adventure for Thor might have been his weakest outing yet. There are good elements to the movie, withChristian Bale’sperformance standing out, and various neat ideas that aren’t executed the best… but there are too many downsides, and the humor/action scenes just weren’t up to Marvel’s usual standards. Some viewers were able to focus on the good over the bad, but others ended up finding the movie very disappointing.
LikeThor 4,Menwas another divisive movie that seemed like it would be more of a surefire hit than it was.Alex Garland’sthird feature film as director wasn’t nearly as popular as his first two,Ex MachinaandAnnihilation(and even then, while most likeAnnihilation, it wasn’t quite as well received asEx Machina).
Still, you can’t faultMenfor its ambition. It has some great ideas, and the way it usesRory Kinnearto play so many characters is effective. Plus,Jessie Buckleyis fantastic in the lead role. It could have been great, but the execution of some of its more outlandish concepts renders the film less than successful for some viewers, making it a fairly divisive horror film.
‘Crimes of the Future’
An interestingblend of horror, science-fiction, and film noir,Crimes of the Futurehad a good deal of hype around it, but didn’t totally deliver for all viewers. It marked famed horror directorDavid Cronenbergreturning to the body horror genre after 20+ years of focusing on more grounded dramas/thrillers, andinstantly earned a controversial reputationupon its debut at Cannes, in May 2022.
Some may have been disappointed to find that the movie wasn’t as provocative and shocking as the early press made it sound. Others may have found it a bit messy and slow-paced, without the truly visceral scenes and atmosphere that make Cronenberg’s best movies so good. It may not have been a terrible movie, but it’s not hard to see howCrimes of the Futurecould (and did) leave some disappointed.
‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’
Bodies Bodies Bodiesfeels like the kind of movie that’s okay with alienating some of its viewers. It takes a slasher movie premise and tackles it in a surprisingly comedic way. While it’s not without suspense and some scary moments, it ends up being more memorable for its comedy, and the way it pokes fun at the younger generations (mostly Gen-Z/younger Millennials).
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Naturally, some younger viewers could feel disrespected, while others might be willing to laugh at themselves along with the movie. Elsewhere,Bodies Bodies Bodiescould disappoint horror fans looking for a genuine slasher movie that’s low on comedy. It might not be the most divisive movie of 2022, but it has the potential to divide audiences for sure, mostly based on what they’re expecting from a horror movie.
‘Clerks III’
1994’sClerkswas the movie that putKevin Smithon the map, as a filmmaker. To this day, it might still be his best movie, as it perfectly captures the difficulty of being young and lost in life while also working a dead-end, passionless job.
Clerks 2was a solid follow-up, withClerks IIIbeing an ambitious and mostly well-done conclusion to what’s now a trilogy… though it’s not the kind of movie that will please everyone. Itcaptures middle-aged angst in a surprisingly emotional way, with parts of the film completely foregoing comedy. As long as viewers are ready for a dramedy, mostClerksfans should hopefully enjoythis somewhat underrated movie.
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
While it’s not technically a movie,Obi-Wan Kenobiis almost one. It’s a limited series, and a particularly short one at that, clocking in at about four hours spread out across six episodes (once you take out the lengthy end credits at the end of every episode).
Perhaps it would have been better as a movie that hovered around the two-hour mark. Most agree that there are strong scenes in the show (mostly those featuring Obi-Wan and Darth Vader/Anakin), but other scenes and episodes proved more divisive. It’s not all great, and it’s not all bad; it’s an inconsistent miniseries, with viewers being in disagreement over how much of it was good, and how much wasn’t so good.
If you had to pick a film as the most divisive of 2022, it would probably beBlonde. It’s a film that exploresMarilyn Monroeby telling a fictionalized story of her life, using her as a vessel toexplore the dark side of Hollywood, the way the film industry can destroy lives, and how (male) film producers can exploit and use young women.
This approach has made it an understandably difficult film for many viewers. Some agree with what the movie’s saying, but don’t appreciate it using a real-life person to do so. Supporters of the film may feel the ends justify the means here, while some feel it’s just pure exploitation, full-stop. No matter how you feel aboutBlonde, it’s the kind of movie that’s inevitably difficult to have a neutral opinion on, making it naturally divisive.
NEXT:‘Blonde’ & Other Movies That Call Out Their Audience For Watching Them
