Waves - Le onde della vita

Upon finally completing this ordeal, I was literally depressed. I have so much to say about Waves, but can't seem to find the words. So, I'll just say it was spectacularly acted, written, and directed. Shults was clearly inspired by the style of Malick, whom he's worked with on a number of occasions, but unlike Malick, he knows how to make his art entertaining. The only reason I gave this film a chance was that it had Lucas Hedges in it and he's yet to be in a bad picture, so I figured what the heck. Boy am I glad I gave it a shot, great film, better than I could've hoped for...highly recommended.

After my wife and I walked out of the movie theater, completely devastated (in the best possible ways) by what we had seen, there was a group of teenagers (the perfect audience for this film) buying tickets and I couldn't help but think about how lucky they were to be seeing Waves. It's the type of film that if one sees it in their youth, it could change how you view movies, art...life.

I will say nothing more about Waves except it is an absolute must-see, and if it finds its audience, it has the chance to be a generational touchstone film.

31-year-old director Trey Edward Shults didn't decide to go modest with his third feature. Waves is a big, broad movie, about many relationships, many deep feelings, many social issues. It doesn't always succeed, but boy, it was worth the effort!

Shults focuses on an upscale African-American family in an affluent suburb in Florida. The son's a HS wrestling star, the daughter is quiet and sweet, the dad's successful but tough on his kids because he knows the cost of success particularly for a black family, and the mom, who's in medicine, is an empathic parent. But this seemingly idyllic set-up is shattered in the first minute by the jumping camera and raucous music. The tension is palpable. Something is going to happen throughout this film, but we don't quite know what. (Fear of the unknown was a hallmark of Shults's other notable film, It Comes at Night.)

So this movie is not for the faint-hearted, but it's got a lot to say. About fathers and sons, parents and children, young love, sharing (or not sharing) secrets, hate, anger, and forgiveness, and the effects that great pain - physical and psychic - have on the soul. Needless to say, with this ambitious an agenda, some things work better than others. Some silly plot errors bugged me, but maybe it just doesn't matter much. Another issue that's been raised: a white director working with a black-centric story; didn't bother me, but it's been talked about. Still, the film is never boring, never static, and never mails it in. Even if 75% of the plot and message works, that was good enough for me. It is NOT easy to watch, but it has a lot to say.

Fasten your seatbelts!

There's some exquisite lighting effects in "Waves," from a crackling fire to police light bars and rainbows, which is complimented by occasionally kinetic montage and hand-held camera movement. Quite a few shots tracking behind figures' heads in this one. And all of the bobbing of the frame coalesces with the rhythm of the soundtrack. The narrative is something of a rigmarole, though. Following the oscillations of a suburban African-American family in crisis, from teenage son wrestler abusing painkillers for his injured shoulder while fighting with his girlfriend over pregnancy, to the daughter dating one of her brother's teammates, I guess, while the father and mother struggle with their relationship and business. The melodramatic climax actually occurs in the middle of the picture, and it's intense. Even the aspect ratio closes in from the usual rectangle to more of a square tending to frame the characters' faces.

Yet, tracking the immature emotional waves of teenagers for over two hours, in what is essentially two pictures in one with two separate protagonists, is exhausting. Nary any intellectual engagement is to be had. The score is all over the place and generally prominent. Maybe you'll like the music and maybe you won't, or perhaps you'll be like me and like some it and not the rest. The problem, however, is that the picture relies too heavily upon it. Teens, their music and feelings. Lots of scenes merely of figures riding around in cars. Drama frequently trying to be wrought from texting and social media. When the tortuous theatrics are, at last, wrapped up, it comes as a relief.

This treasure of a film explores the emotions, circumstance and consequence after a moment of chaos, that moment when in an instant the world begins to crumble and the lives and directions of so many are instantly and irredeemably altered. An original story, beautifully shot, elegantly performed and imaginatively directed. Left me asking the question: are any of us as bad as our worst fifteen minutes?