“I’m the one who’s trying to hold this family together...” While it isn’t the greatest piece of cinematic dialogue ever spoken, that Sterling K. Brown-delivered line is the tie that binds “Waves” and makes it one of the year’s most relatable films. “Waves” takes us inside the lives of the Williamses, a black family in suburban South Florida who appears to be cut from the same mold as the Huxtables and the Winslows. However, we soon find out the Williams family is a lot closer to the families we grew up in and/or around than the ones we watched on TV not too far beyond the film’s opening as they try to hold it together while facing internal and external threats to their unit.
In his role as Ronald Williams, the patriarch of the Williams family, the aforementioned Brown does not disappoint. He perfectly executed the union of nurturing and overzealous rigidness needed to portray a father who clearly loves his children and wants what’s best for them, but may ultimately hurt more than help due to his approach. During a scene that begins with Brown playfully challenging his son to arm wrestling contest and ends with him having gone too far to stoke the competitive fire, we see the first of many examples of how Brown shifts between the two extremes with ease. That being said, Brown isn’t the brightest star in the film. That honor goes to both Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Taylor Russell, who play the children in the Williams family. Harrison’s Tyler Williams might break your heart more than any character you’ll see this year. Tyler’s path isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but what Harrison does with it is special. He does a masterful job of exuding the frustration and raw emotions that lead to each of Tyler’s bad decisions as well as the uncertainty and disappointment that follows them. Russell’s performance as Emily does not have the explosiveness of Harrison’s Tyler, but its punch is just as powerful. As a young woman who appears to be an afterthought in the midst of her father’s and brother’s impact on the family, Russell brings a welcomed calm to the film as her character begins a journey towards finding herself and moving forward from the aftermath of the previous events in their story. It’s not a stretch to say all 3 performances should be in the awards conversations.
Behind the camera, Trey Edward Shults plays the dual role of both writer and director and crafts what feels like two films in one – part cautionary tale about the effects of toxic parenting and mishandling your emotions, part exploring if the film’s subjects can move forward from the impact of those issues. He handled both aspects remarkably well without turning into “Waves” into a big cliché. The key thing that makes Shults’s approach work is he humanizes the Williams family by writing a story that makes them people whose actions are based in keeping their peace vs. making certain characters into heroes and others into villains. This allows you see yourself or someone you know in this story and connect with them in a way that makes the characters feel more like neighbors instead just part of a movie.
“Waves” is without question one of the best acted and directed films of the year. It takes you on a heavy emotional journey without ever being melodramatic and gives a different approach to the well beaten fractured family plotline that 1) almost never features a black family and 2) tells the story without passing judgment on its characters. There are points in the film where “Waves” feels a little long winded, but the powerful performances of Brown, Harrison, and Russell are strong enough to completely overshadow that vibe and make it well worth your movie time and money.
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