TIFF 2019: WAVES Finds Hell, Healing & Humanity

Rose Kennedy once said “It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” Waves from director Trey Edward Shults takes this to heart. It takes an African-American family from Miami on a journey to hell as they navigate loss and forgiveness.

What starts as an energetic and rambunctious look at the seemingly perfect life of Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr) soon takes a dark turn when his girlfriend (Alexa Demie) becomes pregnant and a shoulder injury takes away his ability to wrestle. Instead, Tyler has to wrestle with his demons and inner rage he’s inherited from his father Ronald (Sterling K. Brown). Addicted to painkillers, drunk and angry, Tyler makes a decision that will change his and his family’s lives

Shults has crafted a journey that will break you apart just to put you back together. What starts as a heart-pounding and anxiety-inducing drama morphs into something else – a gentler meditation on dealing with grief and moving past our history. With a moving soundtrack and score, the best ensemble performance of the year and stellar direction, Waves is a cleansing, if not emotionally taxing, trip that reinforces the need to love each other.

Near-perfect craft

The first half of Waves has an incredibly distinct style. It is somewhere between capturing the paradise of Miami like Moonlight, the color and energy of Good Time and the intensity of Climax. Trent Reznor composes a brilliant score that compliments a booming soundtrack. The camerawork from DP Drew Daniels is precise in every single shot and especially stands out. There are moments where light and color hits the lens in a gorgeous way that just forms shapes and washes over you.

Together, it all adds up to a sensory overload that makes you feel the sense of doom and dread Tyler does as he goes through the first half of the film. And when we get to the second half of the film, Shults takes the entire style and craft he’s built in the first half and throws it out the window. He finds a lighter tone that is able to tug on heartstrings and build you back up when you’ve been beat up most. It’s an achievement that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

What really shines through, even more than the score and the cinematography, here, is the acting. Harrison Jr. follows up on his breakout in Luce with a similar character (seemingly perfect, but trouble bubbling underneath), but goes even further this time. You feel for him and root for him, but you also despise him.

Sterling K Brown is in the same boat – he’s a supportive father who pushes his son too far and basically ignores his daughter Emily (Taylor Russell), but at the end of the day he cares for his children. Russell and Lucas Hedges take us on a journey of healing and moving past the pain in the second half that must be applauded. It’s no easy task given the volatile lead up in the first half of Waves.

Going through hell to find healing

Shults seems to subscribe to the Buddhist “life is suffering” mantra. He takes us to hell and back as the film builds and builds to an explosive moment that left our entire audience speechless. He takes away everything good from Taylor, breaking him down to the point of no return. Yet he manages to bring us back from hell.

In the end, Waves is a film about finding your inner peace. Like a wave crashing over you and washing away the pain, the film breaks you down just to have you reemerge cleansed. The family at the center of it all goes through an unimaginable hell. But starting with Emily and Luke (Lucas Hedges) battling their own demons and painful pasts, we all are able to handle our own grief.

Waves: Let it wash over you

Waves is the most emotionally draining and soul-cleansing film of the year. It takes you places you don’t expect and morphs into a completely different film halfway through. It’s an exquisitely crafted piece of art that solidifies Shults as a force to be reckoned with. With the ensemble cast of the year, Waves will make you call your family and let them know you love them, no matter what they’ve done.

Watch Waves