Principal photography began on July 9, 2018, in Broward County, Florida and wrapped up on August 24, 2018. The cast was announced in July, with Demie joining in August.
It had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and was released in the United States on November 15, 2019, by A24. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly that of Harrison, Russell, and Brown), cinematography, and Shults' direction. Despite its success among critics, the film was a box office bomb, grossing $2.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $6 million.
Plot
Tyler Williams is a popular high school senior on the wrestling team. He parties with his friends and spends time with his girlfriend, Alexis Lopez, but is routinely pushed to be better by his domineering father, Ronald. Unbeknownst to anyone, Tyler suffers from a Level 5 SLAP tear, which he keeps secret from his family and team by stealing his father's painkillers. Against the recommendation of his doctor, Tyler continues to wrestle competitively until he is thrown onto his shoulder during a match, causing irreparable damage and ending his season, as well as his career. Tyler's life is further complicated when he receives a text from Alexis, who reveals that her period is late, indicating that she is pregnant. He takes her to get an abortion, but she has a last-minute change of heart. On the way home, the couple has a fight and Alexis walks home alone.
Distraught, Tyler begins drinking heavily and abusing drugs. Eventually, Tyler texts Alexis, who is willing to mend their relationship. She tells Tyler that she has decided to keep the child with support from her family, but when Tyler demands to speak to her in person, Alexis breaks up with him and blocks his number, sending him into a rage as he destroys his bedroom. The night of the school's "Maverick Ball", a grounded Tyler goes on Instagram and sees a picture showing Alexis posing with another boy. He gets drunk and high and attempts to leave the house, but is confronted by his stepmom, Catherine. His father attempts to defuse the situation, but Tyler pushes him to the floor and leaves.
He drives to a house party, where he sees Alexis go upstairs with the boy from the photo. Tyler's younger sister Emily notices his arrival from a distance but says nothing, and Tyler drinks heavily before following Alexis to the garage. An exchange of words leads to an argument, which turns physical when Alexis slaps Tyler and he hits her back, causing her head to hit the floor. She begins to bleed out, and, horrified, Tyler flees. Ronald arrives shortly after, finding Emily, who tearfully confirms Ronald's suspicions. Tyler returns home before attempting to run away on foot. However, he is quickly caught and arrested by the police. Paramedics attempt to resuscitate Alexis, but she dies from her injuries.
Despite a guilty plea, Tyler is sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder, with the eligibility of parole after thirty years. After school one day, Emily is approached by Luke, an awkward but kindhearted classmate who was also one of Tyler's wrestling teammates. He asks her out to lunch and the two begin dating. Emily begins to open up to Luke, participating in activities outside of school with him, such as swimming with manatees. During this time, Emily also overhears Ronald and Catherine arguing about Tyler, with Ronald blaming Catherine for her lack of presence in his and Emily's lives, and Catherine accusing Ronald of putting too much pressure on Tyler. During a conversation they have while fishing, Emily reveals to Ronald that she feels guilty, believing that she could've stopped Tyler and that she hates him for what he did. Ronald advises her not to hold a grudge against her brother and that no matter what, he loves them both. The two reconcile.
Meanwhile, Emily and Luke become closer, eventually having sex for the first time. Emily learns from Luke that his estranged, abusive father is dying of cancer, and she urges him to make amends with him with the time he has left, as Emily and Tyler's mother died from a drug overdose when they were young. The two drive to Columbia, Missouri, where Luke's father is residing, and upon seeing his son, Luke's father's spirits are lifted, with Luke forgiving his father. He survives longer than expected, but passes away one night, which causes Luke to heavily sob. Emily consoles Luke on the drive home to Miami while Catherine visits Tyler in prison, Alexis' parents grieve, and Ronald reconnects with Catherine. Sometime after arriving home, Emily rides her bike down an empty street and lifts her arms from the handlebars.
Cast
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Tyler Williams, a high school senior and competitive wrestler
Taylor Russell as Emily Williams, Tyler's younger sister
Kevin Turen and James Wilson served as producers on the film, with A24 producing and distributing[3][4]
and with Trey Edward Shults directing, producing, from a screenplay he wrote.
According to Adam White of The Independent, Shults did not envision a specific racial ethnicity for the family when he wrote the script, and it was only after black actors were cast that references to the characters' race were added to the story.[5]Sterling K. Brown told Variety, "I've never seen a middle to upper middle class black family dealing with the problems that [the family] has in this movie".[6]
Demie suggested a scene where Alexis and Emily meet in a restroom, with the scene implying a change of focus from one woman to the other. Lauren McCarthy of Nylon stated that the film had a "collaborative nature" style.[7]
Demie stated that the filming of the initial driving scene made it seem like a film crew was not present.[7] Demie also stated that Alexis, compared to Maddy Perez in Euphoria, another character Demie portrayed, "is much stronger, she’s always fighting back and setting boundaries".[8]
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the film's score, replacing Shults' frequent collaboration with Brian McOmber. In an interview, Shults stated, "I got one of the coolest e-mails of my life one day that Trent Reznor was a fan and wanted to meet. I got on a plane as soon as I could and went to L.A. and met him and Atticus for lunch. Instantly, the energy was great. They had seen and dug my other movies and just wanted to work together."[12] The score was released on November 26, 2019, on Nine Inch Nails' online store.[13]
Shults wrote specific music cues into the screenplay such as Lamar's "Backseat Freestyle" and embedded files into the scripts sent to actors so they could listen to the intended songs for each scene. He shot the film having not yet acquired the rights to certain songs and agreed to cut scenes if negotiations failed than reshoot. A letter and rough cut of the film was sent to Ocean, who cleared his songs for use after watching. Negotiations with West stretched over months before "I Am a God" was approved with a stipulation that a "clean" version would need to be featured due to West moving away from secular music.[15]
Release
Waves premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019.[16][17] It screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2019.[18][19] It was released on November 15, 2019, in New York City and Los Angeles, expanding to major U.S. cities the week after, with a wide release set for December 6.[20] In September, Focus Features acquired the international distribution rights to the film, excluding Canada, China and Japan.[21]
Reception
Box office
Waves grossed a total of $1.7 million in the United States.[2] In its limited opening weekend, the film made $134,333 from four theaters, a per-venue average of $33,583.[22] Expanding to 21 theaters the following weekend the film made $168,760, and then $140,995 from 44 theaters in its third.[23][24]
Critical response
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 254 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's consensus reads: "An up-close look at one family's emotional ups and downs, Waves captures complicated dynamics with tenderness and grace."[25] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]
Shults' direction and the performances of Harrison, Russell and Brown garnered praise along with the cinematography and music. Paul Whitington of the Irish Independent gave the film five stars.[27] Brian Tallerico, editor of RogerEbert.com, gave it four out of four stars and wrote "This is a deeper and more profound film than your average character drama, a masterpiece that's hard to walk away from without checking your own grievances and grief."[28]
IndieWire's Eric Kohn gave the film a B+, stating "It's a definitive statement on the present moment, evoking the sheer horror of every uncertain exchange, and the courage involved in moving ahead regardless of what it means for the future".[29]Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times called it "deeply rooted in its characters' consciousness, alert to the feelings of dread, shame, rage and despair that threaten to bring these fast-moving lives to a standstill".[30] It was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best films of the year.[31]
Prince Shakur of Teen Vogue stated that Tyler's story shows the effects of "toxic masculinity". Harrison stated that due to the previously inferior position in society occupied by African-Americans, there is often "a pressure placed on young Black boys to excel".[32]
Writing for The Face, Ludwig Hurtado said the film was part of a genre he termed "Tampa-core", which he described as presenting a "hyper-stylised vision of Florida" with "all the violence and drama of a classic western"; he included Zola and Spring Breakers as comparable titles.[33]
