20 Films to See in December
The final month of 2022 brings the first sequel to the highest-grossing movie in history, potential Oscar contenders from Damien Chazelle, Sarah Polley, Sam Mendes, Darren Aronofsky, and Antoine Fuqua, arthouse fare from Hirokazu Kore-eda, Joanna Hogg, and Jafar Panahi, and more. In the gallery on this page our editors have selected the most interesting films debuting in North American theaters this month, listed in alphabetical order.
Additional content by Jason Dietz.
Drama/Thriller | Directed by Scott Cooper
Opens in theaters December 23 and streams on Netflix January 6
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Writer-director Scott Cooper reunites with Christian Bale for the third time, following 2013’s Out of the Furnace and 2017’s Hostiles, for this adaptation of Louis Bayard’s novel. Set in 1830 at West Point, the film stars Bale as Augutus Landor, a detective called in to solve the gruesome murder of a cadet. Unable to break the cadets’ code of silence, he enlists the help of an eccentric, rebellious cadet named Edgar Allen Poe (Henry Melling), who impresses with his astute observations. This blend of gothic horror and historical fiction features a strong support cast of Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, and Robert Duvall.