Waves (2019)

Directed by Trey Edward Shults. Starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedges, Sterling K. Brown, Alexa Demie, Renée Elise Goldsberry. [R]

Stylized, meditative drama of a pressured youth (Harrison) from an upper-middle class black family, a promising high school wrestler facing the consequences of a potentially irreparable injury and a pregnant girlfriend. How he deals with his issues leads to traumas and tragedies that shock the family, and the film’s second half switches focus to his younger sister (Russell). Swooping, spinning and stalking, bursting with bold, clashing colors and high-contrast lighting, the camerawork (and sometimes frenzied editing) threatens to upstage the drama—they’re techniques customarily employed to compensate for thin and/or superficial plotting and emotions—but it never quite does. The storytelling approach may not be unique, but it is daring, and like the cause-and-effect triptych The Place Beneath the Pines, the pic suffers a smidge from the more powerful and haunting segment coming first. Still, the confident filmcraft and strong performances from Russell, new boyfriend Hedges, and overbearing father Brown hold it together through the vulnerable meandering of its second hour (among the family members, only stepmom Goldsberry fails to leave much of a mark). Music composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross; eclectic soundtrack features a number of vital tracks by artists ranging from Radiohead and Tame Impala to Frank Ocean and Tyler the Creator. Clifton Collins Jr. has a small role.

78/100