. The first follows Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) as his life spirals into tragedy; the second follows his sister Emily (Taylor Russell) as she navigates the aftermath and seeks healing Toxic Masculinity & Pressure: Analyze the intense pressure Tyler feels
Waves relies heavily on its actors to convey profound emotion, often with little dialogue.
The film features an eclectic, heavy-hitting curation of contemporary artists: waves 2019
: At the height of Tyler's breakdown and the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the screen boxily encloses the frame, trapping the audience in a claustrophobic cage of anxiety.
Every few years, a movie emerges that does not merely tell a story but vibrates with the raw, chaotic energy of youth itself. Released in late 2019 by A24 and directed by Trey Edward Shults, Waves is a sweeping, emotionally turbulent epic disguised as a suburban family drama. Set against the sun-drenched, neon-lit backdrop of South Florida, the film operates less like a traditional narrative and more like a musical score, tracking the tectonic shifts of a family experiencing profound grief and eventual redemption. Every few years, a movie emerges that does
We follow Emily as she tries to find normalcy while her family collapses. She falls into a gentle, tentative romance with a sweet-natured teammate named Luke (Lucas Hedges). This isn’t a redemption story for Tyler; it’s a survival story for everyone else. Shults has the audacity to ask: What happens to the people left standing after the explosion?
At the core of Waves is a bold narrative gamble: a binary, two-act structure that mirrors the dualities of life itself. The film functions like a vinyl record, distinctly split into an A-side and a B-side. Act I: The Gathering Storm We follow Emily as she tries to find
Shults uses the formal tools of filmmaking not as stylistic gimmicks, but as direct extensions of his characters' psychological states. Changing Aspect Ratios
The film is famously structured as a "dyptich," divided into two distinct but interconnected movements that mirror the ebb and flow of the ocean.
The film is widely praised for its "maximalist" approach to sound. Shults embedded specific songs into the script before filming even began, using them as emotional cues rather than background noise. Waves (2019) Reviews - Samantha Rivera
The ultimate thesis of Waves is that forgiveness is not an endorsement of past harm, but a tool for personal liberation. Emily's journey demonstrates that acknowledging pain is the only way to keep it from hardening into permanent hatred. The Lasting Legacy of Waves