Waves (2019) Review
Waves directed by Trey Edward Shults, it tells the story of family dynamics after a great tragedy. The film is told in the eyes of the family’s two teenage children, Tyler (played Kelvin Harrison Jr., who also starred in Shults’ film It Comes At Night), the oldest sibling who is a high school wrestling star that shares a competitive nature with his father (played by Sterling K. Brown) and Emily (played by Taylor Russell from “Lost In Space”), who takes on the more subdued and quiet role but is deeply affected by the family’s turmoil. Both children experience adversity in ther family life causing them to be responsible for the destruction and healing of the dynamics. The family drama builds on themes of love, hate, and forgiveness; the film itself is its own journey to forgiveness in which moments of pain and tragedy are created in order to have a sense of healing by the end.
Waves is a two-part told film with both parts of the film exuding their own sense of realism and surrealism along with contrasting styles of point of view. The first half of the film is told from Tyler’s perspective, which immediately his scenes are intense and filled with energy, somewhat reflecting the character of Tyler. Tyler is often shown at odds with his father who he shares a competitive nature — a characteristic taken from Shults’ own life — along with his all-consuming yet toxic relationship with his girlfriend Alexis (played by Alexa Demie). He faces the trials and tribulations of being a wrestling star who becomes injured, which essentially leads him to turn to drugs and alcohol. The stakes in his life are raised when he impregnates Alexis and her refusal to get an abortion which leads to their breakup, which then, leads into a very fiery confrontation between the pair that ends in Tyler accidentally killing Alexis. The film quickly shifts to Emily’s perspective, which stylistically, it is more toned down and subdued, reflecting Emily’s persona. She quickly witnesses the deterioration of her family as Tyler is sentenced to life in prison and her parents refusal to make amends as a result of Tyler’s tirade. Her social life is also very much impacted as she is shown to be a loner in the second half versus the first half. She meets Luke (played by Lucas Hedges), who also happens to be Tyler’s former teammate, and they begin a budding romantic relationship. The whole second half feels like a refresher from the first, as we get to see our protagonist happy and growing from her pain, it story and style very much reflects this idea of forgiveness and healing. Emily and Luke grow closer and take a roadtrip to see Luke’s estranged dying father (a piece also taken from Shults’ life). Shults’ realism in the film highlights the all too real dynamics and relationships the characters share with eachother due to the fact that the film is based on Shults’ life as parts of him are split into all the teenaged characters. The film itself is a rollercoaster of emotions and one can’t help but feel how personal this film is, so, learning that the film is from a personal point of view, there is an added sense of realism. This isn’t first family-oriented film Shults has written and directed, his first film Krisha centers (and even stars) his aunt Krisha Fairchild, which examines her history with addiction and the family dynamics.
The film touches on many of the elements of being human as it explores themes of love, forgiveness, dysfunctionality, and many more real situations that faces anyone and Shults does so in such a particular way. With great style and aesthetics, Shults captures all of these elements with his own touch of realism and surrealism; realism being these characters and their lives and the surrealism in the gradient cuts and the eccentric music to parallel situations in the scenes. As mentioned before, the film is in two parts, and they very much feel like to different films, the first part being this fast-paced, energetic space whereas the second part is toned down and very solemn; these styles aren’t only reflective of Tyler and Emily but how they function. The first part is fast and chaotic reflecting this notion of destruction or tragedy about to occur and the second part showing time passing and this gradual nature of healing, somewhat reflective of the journey of forgiveness. The film itself is nothing without the details, such as the brilliantly performed cast, specifically the two leads Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Taylor Russell, the latter scoring multiple nominations for the role. The writing and direction from Shults is a masterclass, taking notes from his mentor, Terrence Malick, Shults defines the film with great cuts and simple but illuminating stories and characters.
Waves was one of 2019’s hidden treasures, a run of the mill indie film that the media ignored but a true feat in itself. Shults articulates the meaning of relationships and forgiveness in his eloquent writing and raises the stake through his loud visuals. It’s a touching piece that forces your emotions out and makes you deal with what’s ahead and even though the film is told to display these characters’ turmoil, it gives the viewer a sense of reflection.
