Waves (2019)
Stars: Taylor Russell, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Alexa Demie
Runtime: 135 minutes
Synopsis: 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.
Performances: 9/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 8/10
Verdict: As a big fan of Trey Edwards Shults' "It Comes at Night", I was eagerly waiting for his follow up project, once again produced by A24, a studio that never fails to deliver. And one thing the young director proved for sure with "Waves" is that he has range like very few others do, because this particular one's style is vastly different than the one used to create an atmosphere of dread in "It Comes at Night".
Fueled by incredible performances all over the board, gorgeous cinematography that played with aspect ratios in a very smart way, and a killer soundtrack that blended perfectly with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor's upbeat score, "Waves" tells a story that deals with multiple themes, ranging from forgiveness to family values. Every character was written in a way that made us deeply care about them, and that was one of the main strength of a script that sadly took a few risks that didn't entirely work for me. I loved each of the three acts individually (the final one was slightly less engaging but did provide satisfying closure to the themes tackled), but I found the connection between these acts to be a little chaotic. I was caught off guard by many decisions in the narrative, and didn't get used to the sudden shifts right away, which resulted in some moments of disconnect.
Nevertheless, Trey Edward Shults proved once more that he's a director with a bright future ahead of him. "Waves" isn't perfect, but its positive outweighs its negative by a mile. I loved it and cannot wait to check out what Shults does next.
Fueled by incredible performances all over the board, gorgeous cinematography that played with aspect ratios in a very smart way, and a killer soundtrack that blended perfectly with Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor's upbeat score, "Waves" tells a story that deals with multiple themes, ranging from forgiveness to family values. Every character was written in a way that made us deeply care about them, and that was one of the main strength of a script that sadly took a few risks that didn't entirely work for me. I loved each of the three acts individually (the final one was slightly less engaging but did provide satisfying closure to the themes tackled), but I found the connection between these acts to be a little chaotic. I was caught off guard by many decisions in the narrative, and didn't get used to the sudden shifts right away, which resulted in some moments of disconnect.
Nevertheless, Trey Edward Shults proved once more that he's a director with a bright future ahead of him. "Waves" isn't perfect, but its positive outweighs its negative by a mile. I loved it and cannot wait to check out what Shults does next.
FINAL GRADE: 7/10
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