From the opening minutes of this gorgeous film, you can tell this is something special.
Directed by It Comes At Night helmer Trey Edward Shults, Waves follows a suburban African-American family in Florida as they navigate a number of troubles that develop across the film.
We begin with a focus on star-athlete and golden-boy (and golden-haired) Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) as he aces his school spots career and enjoys an intense but blissful romance with his girlfriend, Alexis (Euphoria star Alexa Demie).
However, as Tyler is dealt a series of revelations, he begins to fall apart, prompting huge ramifications for himself, authoritarian father Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), concerned step-mother Catherine (Renee Elise Goldsberry), and Tyler's quiet but compassionate sister, Emily (Taylor Russell).
Despite clearly being a film of two halves and filling a lengthy runtime, Waves delivers a moving, empathetic, shocking, and sensual film.
With cinematographer Drew Daniels offering fluid and energetic camera work to offer gorgeous but living imagery of the Florida setting and its inhabitants, along with some gorgeous editing choices alongside both alternately languid and intense hip-hop/pop songs (Frank Ocean and Kanye West feature), Waves is stylistically vibrant and immersive, offering a transportive snapshot into the lives of its troubled characters.
The film may feel like an extended music video at times, but this never feels pretentious or without conviction; always providing insight into the characters' emotions and intense relationship challenges through lyrical shots and editing.
And what an excellent cast of actors! Harrison Jr. takes a character who could be a cliché and offers a thoroughly human and empathetic protagonist, even in his darker moments. The chemistry the actor shares with the ever-confident Demie as Alexis is palpable and builds to some highly intense scenes during their story.
Meanwhile, Goldsberry and Brown inhabit intense but powerful supporting turns as the parents struggling as their children are dealt harsh life lessons and changes, with Brown bringing his usual reliable gravity to a multi-dimensional father figure who is flawed but believable.
The secret weapon of Waves, however, is the understated turn from Russell as Emily, who really comes into her own across the film, and enjoys a gratifying and humane sub-plot with a love interest, played with heartfelt conviction by indie favourite Lucas Hedges.
Make no mistake, Waves is littered with hard-hitting scenes and subject matter but it never feels gratuitous and is always handle with sympathy and reality.
Ultimately, with Waves, Shults builds to an emotional crescendo that will leave you moved and astounded by the great filmmaking and acting on display, taking us into the lives of one family just trying to make sense of what fortune deals them and the mistakes they have made.
Verdict
Waves is perhaps the most stylish, moving and intimate piece of cinema in years, with gorgeous cinematography and direction alongside stellar writing and performances.
Waves is being shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2019 and is released in UK cinemas on January 17, 2020.
Will you be seeing Waves in cinemas? Let us know in the comments below.
