Direction: Trey Edward Shults
Country: USA
Trey Edward Shults surprised the world with his debut feature Krisha (2015), an achingly intense family drama that deserved all the acclaim it got. With his sophomore picture, It Comes at Night (2017), he stepped into the apocalyptic horror genre with positive assurance. In his newest work, Waves, he returns to the complex family topic, setting the mood with abundant dramatic flair. Deeply focused on relationships, this ruin-and-rebuild tale amasses death, guilt, forgiveness, and hope with variable depth. Set in Miami, the story centers on a middle-class African-American family that will have to overcome the tragic consequences of an involuntary murder.
Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is a high school senior who is deeply committed to pursue a career in wrestling, but is advised by his doctor to stop any physical activity due to a serious, possibly irreversible problem in his shoulder. His domineering father, Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), is the one who trains him with an unhealthy competitive posture. He’s married to Catherine (Renée Elise Goldsberry), who, not being Tyler’s biological mother, raised him as her own child. And then there’s the sensitive Emily (Taylor Russell), the younger daughter of the couple. Frustrated with the impossibility to compete, Tyler sees his life spiraling into chaos after his pregnant girlfriend, Alexis (Alexa Demie), breaks up with him.
At the end of this first narrative segment, Shults dangerously embraces sentimentality, playing the scenes of a new chapter (involving Emily and her boyfriend) a bit too tight while stretching the roller coaster of emotions. With all its faults, Waves still provides incredible moments capable of freezing us in our chairs and pushing us into a hypnotic state. The ensemble cast does a wonderful job, and I see them as real champions whenever the script wibbles and wobbles. The score by Nine Inch Nails’ members Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is outstanding, while the varied soundtrack includes songs from Tame Impala, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Radiohead, among others.
Waves doesn't work in its entirety, but when it connects, it’s powerful and uncomfortable.
