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For 136 minutes, “Waves” tells us exactly how to feel. Opens in limited release Friday, December 6.
Trey Edwards Shults seems to think that life exists only in a heightened state of anxiety. Even though his 2015 debut, “Krisha,” takes place in suburbia, it might as well be a combat film; what should be a hopeful reunion between one woman and her estranged family turns into a holiday massacre of vicious words and accusations. “It Comes at Night,” his cloying end-of-the-world thriller about one family’s attempt to survive the apocalypse, is equally pummeling.
There’s nothing subtle about these films, and Shults’ newest awards-bait drama “Waves” continues that trend with unabashed conviction. It focuses on a well-to-do black family in South Florida that experiences a collective breakdown in spirit and purpose because of self-inflicted wounds. Told in two distinctive parts, the film aligns with the frazzled perspectives of two teenage children adrift in the chaos.
A star wrestler and well-liked student, Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) seems to be living the dream. But it turns out to be the dream of his domineering father (Sterling K. Brown), a man who assigns worth to very specific physical achievements.
Younger daughter Emily (Taylor Russell) is all but forgotten until the film’s jarring shift in perspective at the halfway point. Through her naïve eyes, “Waves” become slightly more tolerable, if only for a few moments.
In the end, Shults’ impressively terrible film telegraphs tragedy with little regard for the nuances of human experience. It swings for the fences in every moment, producing the most uninteresting and unrewarding type of melodrama that panders to obvious sentiment.
For 136 minutes, “Waves” (opening Friday, December 6, in limited release) tells us exactly how to feel at all times, shoving empty images and obvious moral lessons down the audience’s throat with reckless abandon. Sitting through this disaster is akin to being trapped in a pretentious film student’s looping attempt at doing an IG-story version of “This Is Us.”
Opening
“Little Joe:” In this art film Sci-fi from Jessica Hausner, a single mother and dedicated plant breeder at a corporation seeking to develop new species, brings a special sample home to her young son. Opens Friday, December 6, at Landmark Ken Cinema.
“The Aeronauts:” A headstrong scientist and a wealthy young window try to mount a balloon expedition in 1862 hoping to fly higher than anyone else in history. Opens Friday, December 6, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
“The Wolf Hour:” Naomi Watts stars in this dramatic thriller about an agoraphobic author who is tormented by a mysterious stranger as the streets outside her home erupt in chaos. Opens Friday, December 6, at the Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
“Waves:” Tumult and tragedy upend the seemingly comfortable lives of a wealthy black family living in Southern Florida. Opens Friday, December 6, at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas and Angelika Carmel Mountain Cinemas.
One Time Only
“Elf:” In this classic holiday movie, Will Ferrell plays a grown man who has been raised by Santa and his elves. Hoping to find out about his past, he returns to New York City looking for answers Screens at 8 p.m. Thursday, December 5, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma.
“Love Actually:” Romance comes in all shapes and sizes in this multistory holiday romantic comedy set in London. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.
“Scarface” + “Public Enemy:” Two great pre-code gangster films that are great examples of bleak morality tales that have influenced countless artists. Double feature begins at 1 p.m. Sunday, December 8, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.
“Dark City:” In Alex Proyas’ visionary sci-fi film, a man struggles with memories from his past while living in a nightmarish world with no sun. Screens at 7 p.m. Monday, December 9, at Digital Gym Cinema in North Park.