Waves (2019)

Waves is the second film from Trey Edward Shults (It comes at night), it follows a similar experience for the viewer in which is disorientates you right from the beginning. We start with a shot in the car however it starts to spin in a circle around this car and that creates an already sense of uneasiness which is to follow the viewer throughout the film.

It is a very interesting and immerse film, one which is very mood heavy uses the mood to overuse artistic shots. As mentioned, the shot in which the camera spins around is used more than once throughout the whole film, and it is in essence what the film is about, being placed smack bang in the middle of a suburban family and having to watch their lives evolve with the film.

We begin the film with Tyler (Kelvin Harrison JR), he seems to have this perfect picturesque life, one of wealth, he has the girl that everyone wants, he’s the best on the wrestling team. After following him through what seems to be this perfect life, we soon realise there are 2 main problems affecting him, an injury and an overbearing father figure. This whole opening act leads toward a midpoint in which from the trailer no one would have expected or thought of and a complete twist in narrative. With this twist in narrative comes a twist in visual style in which we see the aspect ratio switch in and out and the colours pulsate across the screen.

After this midpoint climax we switch from what was the central character of Tyler to the new central character, Emily (Taylor Russel), Tyler’s sister. At whom I must say out of all the amazing performances in this film, Russel’s is the best. She carries the second half of the film as if she was hiking up a mountain with a 30L bag on her back. She is incredible from the shift to the end. The film now turns in a completely different direction following her loss through a dark period in her life, this is accompanied with a soundtrack that slots itself into the film without being overpowering or overbearing to the viewer. It features tracks by, Frank Ocean, Kanye West which dictate the stories narrative at times.

What I love about this film is the fact that it changes story so suddenly half way through, I like that it’s not giving us what the audience expects but in fact making us watch and pay attention. It does this with subtlety and weaves this new direction into the viewer. It mirrors the tense state of uncut gems but in a woozy and dreamy way and offers a personally immersive experience to any viewer.

Like me, I’m sure after you watch it you will be unsure at first because of how dreamy and visually immersive it was but after a couple of days it will stick with you and follow you and make you think about it, even if the experiences are none like your own.