waves film review

(In Telluride, Toronto film festivals.) Shults’ camera, guided by his regular cinematographer Drew Daniels, glides through the life of a handsome, happy, successful Florida teen named Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Film Review: Waves Misses the Mark As It Documents the Rise and Fall of Privilege Trey Edward Shults’ family drama sinks under sordid plotting . Waves isn’t an easy film to digest, and it’s not without its flaws — Emily’s narrative at the end makes it a bit disjointed, and Tyler’s story never feels resolved — but it stays with you mostly because of its shattering performances that bolster Shults’ story. Waves is in cinemas on Friday, January 17th. It wouldn't be wrong to call Waves a "teen drama," but that generic label doesn't begin to convey the emotional scope of this tender, ... exuberant film. 'Waves': Film Review | Telluride 2019. But his shoulder is hurting, more than he’s willing to admit, and he’s not sleeping enough, a hectic schedule that’s proving harder and harder to maintain. Both films are the work of an ambitious, often audacious film-maker tasking himself with a great deal but effortlessly rising to the challenge and with his latest film, already lauded at this year’s Telluride film festival, he’s aiming for something even bigger. This review was filed from the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6th. He seems like a man who a future therapist will call abusive but who honestly believes he’s doing what it takes to make his son successful. And Brown has a couple scenes that reveal the depth of character he’s found here as well. In the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, there were waves of movies about obnoxious, well-off white dudes learning a lesson about their false priorities and weak moral centers. Shults captures Tyler’s life with a fluid camera, conveying the constant motion of youth and its boundless joy. by Joe Lipsett. Kelvin Harrison Jr, Taylor Russell, Sterling K Brown and Renée Elise Goldsberry in Waves. ... Now, with ‘Waves’, he obliterates a hardworking Florida family before delivering some nearly cosmic forgiveness in the movie’s second half. Directed by Trey Edward Shults. In It Comes at Night, a viral outbreak led to both a grim post-apocalyptic morality tale and a nightmarish body horror. Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr) is an 18-year-old nearing the end of high school with pressure from all angles. Waves is showing at the Toronto film festival and will be released in the US on 1 November, with a UK date yet to be announced. Waves begins with such confidence and bombast that I found myself gripped to the seat, transfixed both by Shults’s bravura film-making and also by Harrison’s barnstorming performance. It’s a drama that wants to deal with big issues like toxic masculinity, grief, forgiveness and love, although lacks the insight to do so in a way that understands what they really mean. Kevin Maher. But when tragedy strikes, with half of the film left, Shults switches gears. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on … Waves review: stirring and showy, this is the kind of cinema that keeps you young 4. Sure, he butts head with a stern father named Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), but dad points out that young black men have to work ten times harder than their white counterparts. This kind of dense, complex storytelling requires a lot of trust in performers and Shults’ cast repays that trust with some of the best ensemble work of the year. Some will compare it to Barry Jenkins’ work—and the Florida setting adds to that—but Shults has his own voice. Waves' power is inseparable from its intricate aesthetic layers. It’s one that carefully considers all technical decisions – the sound design here is fantastic too—but then grounds it all in character. Even after the one-two punch of “Krisha” and “It Comes at Night,” “Waves” is unexpectedly ambitious and confident, the work of a filmmaker in complete control of his talents and using them to challenge himself. And so when these people are pushed into emotional situations, we feel their pain because of the detailed background they imbued into their characters. “Waves” could also just as accurately be called “Ripples.” It’s about how a series of compounding very bad decisions can ultimately impact good ones. Waves – Film Review. The ferocious foreboding turns into something far limper and the much more familiar drama that unfolds feels pedestrian in comparison. “Waves” is visually daring in ways that will make it perfect for year-end montages about the best films of 2019, but what stuns me most is how much Shults, even at just 30, has found a way to balance the lyrical and the human. “Waves” is a patient, long film, but Shults pays off that patience with the final half-hour, which contains the kind of emotional moments that would feel manipulative and melodramatic in a lesser work but resonate here because of how much we know about these characters. The majority of the first half is almost unbearably stressful, a sensory overload matched with raw, devastating work from Harrison, who played another student troubled by the pressure of black excellence in this year’s haunting thriller Luce. He’s a successful athlete in a loving relationship. It’s best to limit your knowledge of what happens before you take a seat, much of the film’s growing unease tied to wondering exactly where Tyler is taking us. Yes, Tyler, you can. here are two movies playing out within Waves, the third offering from the rising indie wunderkind Trey Edward Shults, perhaps not surprising to anyone familiar with his previous two efforts. FILM REVIEW. Recommended. Brown isn’t just showing up and delivering lines, he’s playing a fully-realized, complete character. The ripple effect continues. In Krisha, an uneasy Thanksgiving reunion oscillated between exploring a tense family drama and the unravelling psyche of an unstable older woman. “Waves,” the third film from Trey Edward Shults, is more evidence of the 30-year-old director’s versatility, as it explodes onto the screen with authentic vibrations of ordinary life. Waves is a family drama that is all dazzle and no thought – review Independent culture newsletter The best in film, music, TV & radio straight to your inbox every week January 21, 2020 | Full Review… Pamela Hutchinson Waves was supposed to be the indie film that broke through into award season after winning over critics on the festival circuit, although the buzz surrounding it faded shortly after release. It tells the story of how one seemingly idyllic African American family quickly fell apart. Traces the journey of a suburban family - led by a well-intentioned but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss. It’s one of many filmmaking choices that impact how “Waves” gets under your skin, sometimes without you even knowing it, along with the color palette changes and the effective use of a tension-raising score by Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor. Tyler’s sister is a sweet girl named Emily (Taylor Russell) and he has a supportive stepmother named Catherine (Renee Elise Goldsberry) and a girlfriend named Alexis (Alexa Demie). Isolated at High School and harassed on social media because of what her brother has done, she is befriended by a kind boy called Luke (Lucas Hedges and becomes his girlfriend. Trey Edward Shults has written and directed an empathetic commentary on the interconnectivity of human nature—a film filled with great, almost unimaginable pain, but also incredible beauty. Waves – Film Review. We all make them. Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. Their scenes have a certain sweetness but the tonal shift is so severe and the first half of the film so deeply affecting that the film never really recovers. Film, Drama. With Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie. This emotional typhoon unleashed in Waves is the work of Trey Edward Shults, 31, the Texas-born writer-director marked as a … So he pops the odd prescription pill now and again, just to ease things a little, a casual habit that slowly grows out of control. But even those mistakes can lead to grace, forgiveness, and beauty. I was so wrapped up in the first half that I found myself trying to force myself back on track after it started to derail but the script’s undercooked family dynamic and simplistic philosophy gave me little to hold on to. He invests us in Tyler’s downfall even as his behaviour becomes harder to support and when Shults keeps his uncomfortably tight focus on him, the film soars. Film Review: ‘Waves’ Reviewed at Rodeo Screening Room, Los Angeles, Aug. 27, 2019. Celebrate The HistoryMakers 20@2020: 20 Days and 20 Nights Streams Online Through December 20th, The Mandalorian Chapter 15 Recap: Those Poor Mudscuffers, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The first one will haunt me even if the second will fade. A shoulder injury could derail his senior year and even college prospects, and Tyler does not have the support structure or skill set to deal with his life’s plan being entirely dismantled. Running time: 135 MIN. His father (Sterling K Brown) is a well-meaning disciplinarian who wants the best for him even if that means pushing him to his limits. Both films are the work of an ambitious, often audacious film-maker tasking himself with a great deal but effortlessly rising to the challenge and with his latest film, already lauded at this year’s Telluride film festival, he’s aiming for something even bigger. “Waves” opens joyously. And then Tyler’s world collapses. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Taylor Russell as Emily, whose relationship becomes the focus of the film. What’s inarguable throughout, however, is Shults’s aesthetic ability, and Waves is one of the most visually startling films I’ve seen all year. In Krisha, an uneasy Thanksgiving reunion oscillated between exploring a tense family drama and the unravelling psyche of an unstable older woman. First look review Toronto film festival 2019. Waves Film Review. Trey Edward Shults' Waves marks the director's third feature film and it's undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2019. He doesn’t even tell anyone, popping pain pills and slowly coming apart at the seams. Tyler’s sister is a sweet girl named Emily (Taylor Russell) and he has a supportive stepmother named Catherine (Renee Elise Goldsberry) and a girlfriend named Alexis (Alexa Demie). Waves sets itself apart from Jenkins’s film by being a movie full of cell phones, Instagram feeds, and selfies posted online with captions like “evening flex. Waves isn’t merely a film about teenagers, it’s virtually a teenager in film form. There’s experimentation and verve behind every scene construction, and while he does tend to rely a little too heavily on an admittedly standout soundtrack to carry the film’s emotional weight, I was left in little doubt of his ability as an artist. We’re sure it’s nowhere good but the specifics are best kept in the dark as Shults plays on our fears with horrifying precision. His girlfriend (Alexa Demie) loves him but is concerned about their future after some troubling news. Friday January 17 2020, 12.01am, The Times. Waves crashing with colours, highs and lows soothing but also tumultuous depict Trey Edward Schults’ third film. And it ultimately feels like a call for kindness and forgiveness. And then he finds out Alexis is pregnant. In It Comes at Night, a viral outbreak led to both a grim post-apocalyptic morality tale and a nightmarish body horror. Already in a devastated place emotionally, he fractures further, and “Waves” hurtles toward tragedy, before picking itself up and becoming another film altogether. Ultimately, Waves is a film that feels deeply but thinks quickly. Reviewed by Damien Straker 17th of July 2020 Universal presents a film by Trey Edward Shults Produced by Kevin Turen, Jessica Row, and Trey Edward Shults Written by Trey Edward Shults Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell, Sterling K. Brown, Alexa Demie, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Lucas Hedges Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross Waves — for a time, at least — is a cinematic panic attack. To explain the hows and whys would be a spoiler but the lens moves to Tyler’s sister, played by the extremely engaging Taylor Russell, who falls for an awkward fellow student, played by an infinitely charming Lucas Hedges. Waves is set against the colourful urban landscape of tropical Southern Florida. She only has a few scenes before she’s asked to carry some heavy emotional weight, but she carries it gracefully and movingly. Waves review — stylish family melodrama. Waves review: Heightened, emotional movie anchored by extraordinary performances If you can, see this new releasemovie, Waves, at a cinema because it deserve to … A beautifully made drama goes to thrilling heights, thanks largely to an incredible performance from Kelvin Harrison Jr, but then struggles on the way down, Last modified on Fri 6 Sep 2019 17.33 EDT. One of the things I missed most during the cinema lockdowns was that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you discover a truly brilliant film for the first time. His school life demands him to be both adept in the classroom as well as agile on the wrestling mat. Like a lot of great dramas, you can see the backstory work done by the actors. Not unlike a novel that switches protagonist after the first half, we realize that this has never been only Tyler’s story. Waves: Film Review Directed by Trey Edward Shults, Waves presents a metaphor for emotional tides of and the ripple effect these can cause. Read full review So there are two films here: one is frightening and poignant and the other tender but slight. Film Review: ‘Waves’ Posted on 2019-11-11 In classical Hollywood cinema, most movies rush forward, like a river or roller coaster, along a steady course toward a certain objective. “Waves” opens joyously. There is a rhythmic, pulsating poetry in observing Tyler as the protagonist, within a sensual Florida setting, but this is not merely a coming of age tale as an ill fated decision transforms the lives of all that we come into contact with in Waves. The film then switches to the predicament of Tyler’s sister Emily (Taylor Russell). “ American Beauty ” is one of the most notable given its Oscar success, but this was a … This is a deeper and more profound film than your average character drama, a masterpiece that’s hard to walk away from without checking your own grievances and grief. Few young actresses have been able to convey so much emotion with a worried look or warm embrace. They can lead to a recognition that the wave that crashes on the beach will soon recede back to the peace of the ocean. For lack of a better word, Harrison gets the “flashy” performance, but he’s not the only stand-out here, in fact it’s Taylor Russell who feels like the revelation. ‘Waves’ Review: The Shattering Ebb and Flow of Family Life The writer-director Trey Edward Shults tells the story of a family held together by love and nearly undone by tragedy. Music, Film, TV and Political News Coverage. As he did with “It Comes at Night,” Shults plays with aspect ratio, tightening the widescreen ratio on Tyler as the world starts to collapse on him, but this is no look-at-me-ma trick. When we’re 18, we think we’re invincible, especially in the case of star athletes—Tyler literally shouts “I cannot be taken down” with his teammates before a wrestling match. He finds a way to marry his technical playfulness to the performances he pulls from his award-worthy cast. Shults’ camera, guided by his regular cinematographer Drew Daniels, glides through the life of a handsome, happy, successful Florida teen named Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). There are two movies playing out within Waves, the third offering from the rising indie wunderkind Trey Edward Shults, perhaps not surprising to anyone familiar with his previous two efforts. 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