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  • Reviews: Waves (2019)
  • 2019 Films

Reviews: Waves (2019)

Governing Committee November 28, 2019 3 minutes read

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Waves-Header

Here are review links for this film submitted by our members:

  • Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
    • Excerpt: [Shults’] third outing proves as dazzling as his first, a film split in two by its tragic midpoint climax, its first half both visually and aurally unsettling, its second calmer and hopeful.
  • Karl Delossantos @ Smash Cut Reviews
    • Excerpt: Waves is an electrifying and music-filled family drama that is as emotional as it is thrilling to watch.
  • Candice Frederick @ The Wrap
  • [New] | Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
    • Excerpt: What elevates the film into something more is the about-face that Trey Edward Shults takes in the middle of the story where a major event completely shifts the spotlight from one character to another. A dreadful act appears to signify an end but in fact, the narrative is taking on a new beginning.
  • Charlie Juhl @ Citizen Charlie
    • Excerpt: Trey Edward Shults offers the spectrum of family dynamics from normality through calamity and into adrift desolation. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is undeniable as a force of nature buckling under pressures he lacks the faculties to understand nor cope with.
  • Wesley Lovell @ Cinema Sight
    • Excerpt: Trey Edward Shults steps behind the camera for his third feature film, a daring, unvarnished look at a middle class black family on the edge of collapse. Made from his own screenplay, “Waves” is a haunting and unrelenting picture that slowly unravels as does the family.
  • Mike McGranaghan @
    • Excerpt: Prepare to be deeply moved.
  • Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
    • Excerpt: The script contrasts duty to the group with duty to the soul. The former’s lie leads to turmoil; the latter’s truth to a chance at peace.
  • Aaron Neuwirth @ We Live Entertainment
    • Excerpt: The unique structure allows Waves to roll into a new groove, ultimately making for quite the fulfilling journey for the characters.
  • Matt Oakes @
    • Excerpt: Trey Edward Shults combines a challenging narrative with expressionistic filmmaking techniques to tell a bold and eye-catching story about cause and effect through the lens of an upper-class African-American family. Everything from the performances, music, cinematography, and direction on down is truly note-worthy in one of year’s best films.
  • Frank Ochieng @ Flick Feast
    • Excerpt: Heart-wrenching and beautifully executed in its vibrant schemes of color and complexity, Shults has constructed a storytelling method that is uniquely solid in its consciousness and conviction.
  • Josh Taylor @ www.forgetfulfilmcritic.com
    • Excerpt: As with the work of Barry Jenkins (Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk) and Sean Baker (The Florida Project), director Trey Edward Shults has crafted one of the most touching, humanist films of its release year. Waves is a moving, tender, horrifying, human drama that showcases both the best and worst inclinations of our species.

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