8 Breathtaking Performances by Astonishing Black Actresses in 2022
Reframing Hollywood Through the Black Female Gaze: A Black History Month Series (Part 3)
Image: KIMI by HBO Max
Black women dominated the big screen last year.
They moved audiences with their brilliant performances in trailblazing stories.
Yet you’d never know if you only paid attention to the Oscars.
Halle Berry remains the only Black woman to win Best Actress for her performance in Monster’s Ball.
In the Academy’s ninety-five history, Berry was just the seventh Black actress ever nominated in the category. And now, twenty years later, only six Black women have been nominated for the prestigious award.
“Black women have always created. But their heightened prominence in today’s Hollywood means the excuses for not highlighting them ring especially false.” - Robert Daniels via The Los Angeles Times
While Hollywood’s archaic gatekeeping institutions continue to exclude women of color, nothing stops us from spotlighting the fantastic performances of Black actresses last year.
These undervalued performers are no longer restricted to playing the stereotypical supporting characters Hollywood once relegated to them. In 2022, they displayed an unprecedented range of roles.
Viola Davis, Larshana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, and Sheila Atim kicked ass as the real-life ferocious Agojie warriors of Dahomey in The Woman King.
Janelle Monáe stunned audiences and slayed with impressive style in the wildly entertaining Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Keke Palmer dazzled in Nope with her infectious portrayal of a complicated sibling on a mission to get the Oprah money shot.
Danielle Deadwyler turned tragedy into triumph in Till by delivering a career-defining performance as Mamie Till-Mobley, the grieving mother of slain teenager Emmett Till.
What about the unsung talented Black women making waves on the indie circuit?
The ones without the benefit of famous white friends campaigning on their behalf who are so far removed from the Oscar buzz very few people know they appeared on the big screen last year.
Black actresses ruled in art house cinema, whether their films made a splash at the box office or found their groove via video on demand.
They and their under-the-radar gems are worthy of praise and a wider audience.
Here are eight breathtaking performances by astonishing Black actresses you may have overlooked last year.
Image: Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. by Focus Features
1. Regina Hall
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. (2022)
Trinitie Childs (Hall), the proud first lady of a Black Southern mega-church, and Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), a manipulative philanderer, navigate a salacious scandal that threatens to deplete their congregation.
The embattled power couple struggles to rebuild their congregation, reconcile their faith, and mount the biggest comeback commodified religion has ever seen.
This mockumentary straddles the line between sharp comedy and perceptive social satire, showing us that behind every good man is an even better woman.
Hall elevates a sharp script with hilarious, pitch-perfect comedic timing and profound empathy.
She shines as the quintessential conflicted pastor’s wife, questioning whether her chosen path is righteous and whether her dubious husband is worth saving.
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a cautionary tale about blind ambition, soul-sucking sacrifice, and crippling devotion that is rarely told about women of color.
Stream Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. on Amazon Prime Video.
2. Anna Diop
Nanny (2022)
Aisha (Diop), an undocumented Senegalese nanny, works for an affluent New York couple and hopes to bring her son to the U.S.
However, a malevolent presence threatens to destroy her long-awaited reunion and shatter her shot at the American dream.
Diop imbues Aisha with gentle confidence and undeterred resilience.
She maneuvers through her opposing surroundings, a posh Manhattan apartment and the rugged streets of Harlem, with delicate ease and protective armor.
Diop’s flawless performance hinges on her unbridled compassion.
She manages a grand sense of loss and escalating desperation while striking a beautiful balance between grace and grit as Aisha’s restlessness intensifies.
Nanny won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, becoming the first horror film to win the festival’s top honor. Diop also earned a Gotham Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performer.
Nanny is a visually striking supernatural fable that highlights the complexities of maternal sacrifice through a poignant immigrant lens.
Stream Nanny on Amazon Prime Video.
Image: Saint Omer by Les Films du Losange
3. Guslagie Malanda
Saint Omer (2022)
Rama (Kayije Kagame), a pregnant novelist, travels from Paris to Saint-Omer to attend the trial of Laurence (Malanga), a Senegalese immigrant accused of leaving her 15-month-old child on a beach to die.
Saint Omer is a harrowing psychological French courtroom drama based on the 2016 murder trial of Fabienne Kabou, an immigrant woman charged with infanticide.
Malanda depicts Laurence with a magnetic allure and disturbing stillness.
Her gripping performance encapsulates Laurence’s underlying inequalities within the context of race, class, gender, culture, and colonization.
Laurence is a cryptic figure whose disillusionment morphs into devastating despair.
She doesn’t evade her guilt. Instead, she explains the events that led to her unspeakable crime.
Malanda vividly captures the gravity of Laurence’s situation but acknowledges her strained survival in a white-first Western world where she lacks status, identity, and humanity.
Saint Omer is a scathing indictment of marginalization in which otherness, loneliness, and unresolved distress collide, resulting in a fatal irrevocable decision.
Saint Omer is available for rental or purchase across various digital platforms.
4. Gabrielle Union
The Inspection (2022)
Inez French (Union), a religious, homophobic mother, rejects her young Black gay son, Ellis French (Jeremy Pope).
Ellis spends several years homeless, avoiding the ire of his damaged mother until he enlists in the U. S. Marine Corps.
Union’s portrayal of Inez is nothing short of spectacular.
For the first time in decades, a filmmaker allows Union to break free from the typecasting Hollywood forces upon her.
She flaunts her dramatic chops and transforms on screen by becoming an acrimonious mother with contempt in her battle-tested heart.
While Inez appears in just a few scenes, Union unearths a tortured familial bond of broken faith, love, and trust in a gut-wrenching journey of elusive redemption.
The Inspection is a powerful testament to the perseverance of queer Black men and the misguided Black mothers who love them.
The Inspection is available for purchase across various digital platforms.
Image: The African Desperate by MUBI
5. Diamond Stingily
The African Desperate (2022)
Palace Bryant (Stingily) is a graduate student at a northeastern liberal arts school.
She spends her last twenty-four hours on campus facing a final critique of her work, avoiding an over-hyped graduation party, and contemplating her contribution as a Black creative.
This comedic satire covers new ground in the small niche of films about prestigious art schools.
Unlike similar parodies, it features a Black protagonist whose apathetic attitude bristles her white peers and instructors.
Stingily sparkles as Palace.
This avant-garde film lacks a straightforward narrative structure, relying instead on Stingily’s ability to emit a transfixing vibe.
Her captivating performance oscillates between meditative scenes and drives the experimental film’s emotional core.
Even with no prior acting experience, Stingily emulates the uneasiness and susceptibility Black creatives endure in these predominately white spaces.
The African Desperate is a feverish Gaspar Noé mood piece that juxtaposes inherent white privilege and ironic Black bemusement to hilarious effect.
Stream The African Desperate on MUBI.
6. Thandiwe Newton
God’s Country (2022)
Sandra Guidry (Newton), a former cop turned college professor living in a rural town, grieves the recent passing of her mother.
On the day of the funeral, Sandra finds a mysterious truck belonging to local hunters trespassing on her property.
She’s soon drawn into a taut, escalating feud in the remote American West mountains.
Newton deftly explores the vicious cycle of toxic masculine aggression in this tense psychological thriller.
The skilled actress delivers tremendous fortitude and biting vulnerability through simmering glances or piercing stares.
She magnifies the film’s palpable tension with remarkable grit and elegance—all while under the constant threat of gender and racial-based violence.
God’s Country is an intoxicating grief drama turned revenge tale that examines the intersectionality of misogynoir and generational trauma.
Stream God’s Country on AMC+.
Image: Bones and All by United Artists Releasing
7. Taylor Russell
Bones and All (2022)
Maren (Russell) is an outcast teenager who can’t control her cannibalistic urges.
After her father abandons her, she sets out on the road and meets Lee (Timothée Chalamet), who shares her unusual desire.
The two young disenfranchised drifters embark on a violent yet heartwarming journey of identity, loss, and connection.
Russell stars in this electric horror romance, delivering a tender, subtle, and career-defining performance.
She devours every inch of the screen with mesmerizing bravado as a marginalized woman finding her way in the world.
Her impressive portrayal conveys the heavy load Maren bears, along with an unflinching desire to belong.
She infuses Maren with unrestricted nuance, anchoring her with euphoric realism and humbling empathy.
Russell’s breakthrough performance earned her critical acclaim, including a 2023 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Lead Performance.
Bones and All is a dark, disturbing, gruesome coming-of-age story where otherness is a burdensome gift and community is a treasured reward.
Bones and All is available for rental or purchase across various digital platforms.
8. Zoë Kravitz
KIMI (2022)
Angela Childs (Kravitz) suffers from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder that stems from panic attacks.
She works the perfect job as a voice stream interpreter for a company with a Siri-like virtual assistant called KIMI.
However, Angela must face the outside world to ensure justice is served when she hears what she believes is a violent crime.
This modern tech-inspired take on Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic, allows Kravitz to showcase her full dramatic range.
She fires on all cylinders in this visually striking murder mystery that takes unexpected twists and turns.
Kravitz brings a frenetic energy and electric vibe to Angela.
She elevates an otherwise standard script with incisive wit, discerning instincts, and universal humanity.
KIMI is a sophisticated and suspenseful whodunnit with relevant social commentary on the hidden dangers of isolation and intrusion.
Stream KIMI on HBO Max.
Final Thoughts
Diversity and inclusion in Hollywood should include Black faces on the screen that surpasses stereotypical roles.
This requires audiences to welcome a more encompassing cinematic landscape that extends past tentpole franchises.
We must venture beyond the major intellectual property blockbusters and unreliable streaming algorithms to discover rare hidden gems.
This list reinforces that Blackness is not a monolith, represented by astonishing artists in overlooked roles.
Allow yourself to discover the talents of these sensational Black actresses by adding their incredible performances to your must-watch list.
Remember to subscribe and spread the word! The final installment in the series arrives next week.