by Nathaniel R
It's that time again! I'm going to do the Film Bitch Awards a little differently this year and give them each their own article... all 40ish categories. At least that's the plan over the next month but we'll see. First up, movie posters of the year. The state of movie posters in general is dire, many often looking more like an AI generated collage of faces with sizes proportioned by legal contracts and no consideration of visual appeal. But, gripes aside, there are always bright spots. Honorable mentions to this list include the upside down "don't get lost" teaser for Saltburn, the retro-painted poster of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Oppenheimer 's literally explosive biography.
Herewith 12 favourite movie posters of the year in not very particular order...
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse -- very much like the honorable mentions Dial of Destiny and Oppenheimer) is doing big mainstream flashy advertising in traditional ways but that's not an insult. Doing that work well isn't easy as tens of thousands of movie posters can attest. These posters totally work from their color choices, to their presentational force, through their nostalgic call-outs, or inclusion of clever details. In the case of Spider-Verse, all of those things are true with the added correct spin of Miles Morales being upside down, while the teeming supporting cast bleeds into the supporting character of New York City.
The next grouping is six posters selling singular movies from distinct genres.
AMERICAN FICTION
ASTEROID CITY
THE IRON CLAW
SWALLOWED
THE HOLDOVERS
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
The marketing teams behind American Fiction, Asteroid City, The Iron Claw, Swallowed, The Holdovers, The Zone of Interest were are all tasked with selling highly specific movies from six very different genres. Each do the work memorably without betraying the movie or feeling like every other movie poster out there. It's also a case of true 'what you see is what you get' advertising: American Fiction's satire's book within the movie is suggested by a scratchy overlay; the presentational nature of Wes Anderson's ensemble comedy Asteroid City is a desert confection; The Iron Claw conveys the insularity of a family-only sports drama; There's the queer body horror of the underseen but worth-your-time Swallowed (if you're into that genre); and The Holdovers is giving period piece holiday comedy with an illustrative flair and an ace tagline "Discomfort and Joy".
Finally, though some people don't respond well to movie posters with a lot of empty space, we love this poster for the difficult-to-sell Holocaust picture The Zone of Interest. Though Jonathan Glazer's Oscar nominated pastoral nightmare is often brightly lit (in contrast to expectations), this black void nighttime conveys the nightmare abyss of a movie that subverts expectations by ignoring the atrocities that allow for its garden party splendor.
And the nominees (in alpha order)...
'MOVIE POSTER OF THE YEAR'
ANATOMY OF A FALL
There are times where intricate overstuffing is the way movie posters should go (see last year's nominees in this category Everything Everywhere All At Once or Decision to Leave), but most of the time, precise reduction will point you closer to the end goal of all movie posters: becoming an iconic mnemonic for the film. This icy overhead shot is brutal and memorable. It's also what the entire film will be about as we dissect this death (and the family dynamic surrounding it) with chilly remove.
BARBIE
Here we have a case of advertising exactly what you're delivering. More importantly the poster design is doing that ticket-selling work joyfully -- it's colorful perfection. The Barbie teaser poster is giving amusement park fun with its slide-like curlicue directional sight lines. The plastic pink aesthetic is selling vibrant mainstream comedy. The title design is all bravado and famililar confidence (no need to spell out the title when you know that we know). Finally, while never feeling overworked as a piece of advertising it's also delivering gender dynamics and storytelling with Barbie up top welcoming us to her party. Meanwhile, Ken lovingly gazes up at her, oblivious to all else. The tagline agrees.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
A disclaimer first: Nearly all of the posters for Killers of the Flower Moon were disasters of photoshopped genericism, selling only the seriousness of the film's intent and the bankable mug of Leonardo Dicaprio. So we thought about ditching this as a viable nominee. But on the other hand why penalize this particular beauty for the company it keeps? This alternative poster, for its brief IMAX run, was designed by the film's Osage Nation Ambassador Addie Roanhoarse and focuses solly on Mollie (Lily Gladstone) where the focus should always have been. It's a true beauty. If only they had had the confidence to fully advertise the film this way.
POOR THINGS
Poor Things is Killers polar opposite in that all of the marketing materials are beauties. So file this one under 'embarrassment of riches'. Any of the three main posters for Poor Things would have made a worthy "best of year" list, from the messily made-up tight close up of Bella's face to the expressionistic take of Bella with the rest of the cast spilling out of her like discarded organs. This is the best of the lot, maintaining the same absurdist throughline while keying directly into the film's central character arc. Making the figurative literal, here Bella becomes her true self, emerging from her own body.
ROTTING IN THE SUN
We end (if only due to alphabetical order) with this in-your-face provocation. You could dismiss this painted portrait for Sebastian Silva's comedy Rotting in the Sun as a dirty joke. But if you did you'd be foolishly ignoring how cleverly it sums up the film's energies, plotlines, character details, and overall vibe. It is, after all, a sexually explicit movie about a gay filmmaker who would rather be a painter, and the vulture-like vibes of people feeding off of other people's success. What's more the plot does indeed revolve around a dead body doing its titular thing!
Yes, that means the annual Film Bitch Awards have begun. More categories to follow!