'Waves' - An Authentic Capture on Human Emotion

Emotional waves can be defined as feelings of varying size that come and go with time. This is the thinking behind Trey Edward Shults' most recent film 'Waves.' Shults' film is a personal statement on human nature and how society can be surrounded by both beauty and pain. In a nutshell, 'Waves' is about a family going through an intense moment in their life. It is an ambitious, compelling commentary that when given its full attention blossoms into a heart-wrenching, impassioned piece of art.

‘Waves’ opens joyously; introducing the audience through the life of a handsome, happy, successful Florida teen named Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). Tyler’s sister is a sweet girl named Emily (Taylor Russell) and he has a supportive stepmother named Catherine (Renee Elise Goldsberry) and a girlfriend named Alexis (Alexa Demie). Shults captures the essence of Tyler’s life beautifully, conveying the constant motion of youth and its boundless joy. He’s a successful athlete in a loving relationship. He has confrontations with his stern father named Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), who points out that young black men have to work ten times harder than their white counterparts. He seems like a man who a future therapist will call abusive but who honestly believes he’s doing what it takes to make his son successful.

And then Tyler’s world collapses. A shoulder injury could derail his senior year and even college prospects, and Tyler does not have the support structure or skill set to deal with his life’s plan being entirely dismantled. He doesn’t even tell anyone, taking his dad’s oxycodone and slowly unwinding into mental instability. Then his life moves from bad to worse when he finds out Alexis is pregnant. Already in a devastated place emotionally, he fractures further, and ‘Waves’ hurtles toward tragedy, before picking itself up and becoming another film altogether. Not unlike a novel that switches protagonists after the first half, we realize that this has never been only Tyler’s story.

Although Tyler's portion of the film is bleak and dark, it is vastly contrasted by its second portion. The story picks up following the perspective of his sister Emily. From the darkest aspects of Tyler's story, Emily's story becomes a single bright spot of hope. Her story reflects on the events in Tyler's half, which expands upon the characters in the first and explores wonderful new characters exclusive to her side. From the viewer's perspective, we move from being drowned in sadness to being washed over by optimism. To have one of these stories and not the other would be a mistake because Shults is narratively showing how an emotional wave works as it comes and goes. The double narrative elevates the story from good to great because both halves play off of the other empowering the characters and the story it's presenting.

Despite 'Waves' novel presentation of its narrative, the aspect that stands out the most are the visuals. The camera plays the role of the passive observer, similar to 'La La Land', filming scenes with an intricate style that adds layers to the characters it's viewing. Shults moves the camera

organically with an emphasis on people manipulating the lights colors framing and aspect ratio to better explore the internal emotions. However, nowhere is this more apparent than in 'Waves.' The use of an orbiting camera to replicate the sense of someone's spiraling out of control, the changing of the aspect ratios to create a sense of confinement, and the shifting and darkening of contrasting reds and blues as two lovers grow further apart. Every choice is purposeful and effective at creating an engaging and immersive experience.

Part of the reason Shults' stories envelope the audience is because Shults takes the experiences from his own life to tell stories that are so raw in genuine across all his movies. The near-death of his father spiraled Shults to contemplate his future and his mortality. He explored darker places in life and the result was his second film 'It Comes at Night', which is a dark study of individuals in a time of crisis. In 'Waves' he shows the power and importance of love; if he can forgive and put to rest his demons "we as a society can act with a love first mentality as well." As a director, he understands how powerful a film can be when there are true stories behind it. Not only does he involve himself but he involves his actors. The themes of black excellence stem from Kelvin Harrison Jr's experience being pushed as a musician at a young age. The combination of truth and fiction is why characters and stories feel real and authentic.

Trey Edward Shults emerges as a master craftsman with a deep understanding of

what makes us human. He boldly wears his heart on his sleeve and it's what makes

his work stand miles above other young filmmakers at his level. At age 32 not many directors are capable of telling such a personal story with such skill and it's what makes Shults one of the most exciting filmmakers to watch today. 'Waves' is the final confirmation that Shults is a filmmaker with something to say and his message is sure to stick with you long after you've left. Let me know if you've seen this movie in the comments below.

Tallerico, B. (n.d.). Waves movie review & Film summary (2019): Roger Ebert. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/waves-movie-review-2019

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