Written, Produced and Directed by Trey Edward Shults
**** (four stars)
RATED R
Absolutely tremendous and I never saw it coming.
"Waves," the third film from Writer/Producer/Director Trey Edward Shults is something I possessed scant knowledge of, primarily and solely through seeing trailers and to that end, the film never arrived in my city. While also knowledgeable of the critical acclaim the film received, I did intentionally try to keep some distance from actual reviews should I eventually come into contact with the film for myself. I am very thankful that I did initially keep it at an arms length, for now, after having seen it at long last, my arms are opened as widely as possible in order to fully embrace the wonderment of this experience...and with that in mind, I am hoping to inspire you to seek this film out for yourselves as well, especially as we are all craving art and entertainment during this global pandemic.
As with the film's somewhat cryptic trailer, I do not wish to extend any sense of an extensive plot description so as not to produce spoilers or to inadvertently derail any of the intended impact. Set in the upper class suburban community of South Florida, "Waves" centers upon the life and times of the Williams family, which includes loving yet domineering patriarch Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), stepmother Catherine (Renee Elise Goldsberry), shy, introverted younger teenage daughter Emily (Taylor Russell) and high school Senior plus school team wrestling star Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.).
Tyler's life moves at the speed and intensity of a comet, with wrestling, studies, college prep, a paying afterschool job for his family and an intense romantic relationship with girlfriend Alexis Lopez (Alexa Demie) fully consumes his waking hours. His relentless drive is only bested by Ronald, who also serves as Tyler's unforgiving personal trainer, disciplinarian and motivator.
When a setback for Tyler arrives, this beginning a downward spiral into family tragedy, we then witness the full, painful existential journey during which the family navigates grief, dissolution, disintegration, forgiveness, hope and healing.
With "Waves," Trey Edward Shults has envisioned and delivered, through his superlative writing, direction, production and even editing, a voluminously immersive and emotionally upending drama that finds the epic within the smallest moments, the individualistic motivations of one while exploring the connections and fault lines within an entire family unit, and how those actions of one life extend throughout the entire family, demonstrating how lives, once so narrow in focus, implode upon themselves only to find themselves completely reconfigured, reconstituted and re-contextualized becoming an entirely new entity.
While watching, I found myself feeling that this film sits within a cinematic universe where the likes of Spike Lee's "Crooklyn" (1994), Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" (2016), Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem For A Dream" (2000) and even Terence Malick's "The Tree Of Life" (2011) all co-exist harmoniously. Shults has unquestionably created a superior art film, where he is aided miraculously by the Cinematographer Drew Daniels hallucinogenic visuals, Composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' turbulent score as well as the expertly curated song choices which range from Frank Ocean and Kanye West to Radiohead, Alabama Shakes and beyond, and all of which are rightfully relegated to serving the story and characters and not existing to push a soundtrack album.
Indeed, "Waves" is an extended tone poem of a film, where the dialogue is often scant and/or muted thus allowing the elevated audio/visual poetry to serve as the engine to the film's meticulous, masterful storytelling which exquisitely possesses captivatingly insightful multi-layers that consistently enhance the film's inherent drama. And much like we have experienced with Spike Lee's mammoth "Da 5 Bloods," Trey Edward Shults' usage of differing aspect ratios (from widescreen shots of differing sizes to square television sized boxes), which could be perceived as a directorial indulgence, also proves its existence by being riveted to story and characters, dictating when the life experience has grown smaller or larger as well as from whose perspective we are viewing the film from.
As "Waves" propels furiously through its first half, we are given the whirlwind existence of Tyler, for whom the camera work is as restless as his life as well as showcasing how the world of the his family and seemingly the entire environment revolves around him. And even with such a single-minded focus, Shults allows his film to constantly shift in tone and style to always be a work of re-invention and revelation, always revealing more of itself, which ultimately reveals more of the inner world of its protagonists.
For some viewers, it may feel that when "Waves" reaches what could be seen as a natural conclusion, it seems to re-set itself. But, trust me, Shults has not essentially weaved two differing films together. His narrative is as profound as it is purposeful, where the actions and emotions of the almost rapacious first half set the stage for the elegiacal second half, which in turn informs what we have already seen. In doing so, Trey Edward Shults essentially rejects the standard three act structure of most films, forging ahead with a narrative that feels like the way life is truly lived and experienced.
The Father/son drama of "Waves" is as primal as any I have seen, yet especially rare, as it does indeed delve into maelstrom of the Black experience, as well as individualistic and generational racial trauma. Ronald's unforgiving treatment of Tyler, while housed partially within a past setback, thus making him a Father wanting to live his dreams through his son, is ultimately due to the realities of being a Black man in a White world--especially within the wealthy upper class society in which the Williams family resides.
Ronald knows imperatively that if the world were fair and people where indeed judged solely upon the content of their character rather than skin color, there would be no need for one race to understand that to even begin to be seen as equal to the dominant White race, a Black person needs to be almost superhumanly gifted. While unfair, it is the reality and therefore, a constant lesson to impart to Tyler. And still, it is an impossible feat that Black people have to face and confront daily and within the context of "Waves," we see the severe toll this pressure takes upon Tyler, within his athleticism, his education, his relationship and other areas of which I will refrain from mention so as to, again, not produce spoilers. Shults remarkably illustrates how this form of racial trauma is exceedingly real and how that very trauma damages the people and relationships that are not only the closest to ourselves but the very ones that sustain us.
Sterling K. Brown rightfully dominates every scene he is in and in turn, Kelvin Harrison Jr. matches him beat for beat in sheer intensity. Yet, both also deliver a shattering fragility that allows the film to delve into themes of Black manhood and the subjugation of Black male emotions to detrimental effect. They are sensational.
As Emily Williams, Taylor Russell begins as the film's secret weapon and gradually becomes its anchor, with a quiet, force and grace that serves as the bedrock for potential resolution, and even a sense of personal ascension in a familial world in which she was decidedly not the center of the universe. Very much like Spike Lee's "Crooklyn," it is the figure on the outskirts of the family that actually harbors the greatest perception of the variety and vortex of events that surround her family and Shults, through his storytelling patience, graciously allows "Waves" to unfurl in its own time, revealing Emily as naturally as the return to calm after a violent storm. Russell is golden and magnetic and without her, the film would unravel.
Trey Edwards Shults' "Waves" is most likely the film many of you may not have even heard of but it is definitely one that demands your attention and I am certain you will be undone by its emotional gravity and unrepentant humanity. If I had been able to see the film in 2019, my personal Top Ten Films of that year would be dramatically altered. And as of this writing, I am wondering if my Time Capsule series, celebrating my favorite films from the decade of 2010-2019 also needs a fine tuning.
Yes, "Waves" possesses that level of excellence. An excellence not often seen but when it is, it should be cherished.
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