Crashing waves of anger, regret, consequence, and hopelessness. Crashing waves of love, redemption, forgiveness, and hope. This film is awash with many moments of high emotion and feeling, and while it doesn't always come together as hoped, it is still a commendable effort.

Waves is sometimes disorienting, but it was a massive punch to the guts. The trailer had gotten me hooked since it came out but I only just got around to watching it.

Boy am I glad I did watch it though!

Love the cast. Here for the music. Definitely will look forward to what the director has coming next.

A good movie about a topic that's been made movies off a lot lately, what with dysfunctional families/millenials, drugs and America, and all that. American Honey did it quite well, too.
The camera-work in the beginning almost nauseated me, but it was interesting camerawork nonetheless. I liked how the director used lights and colours in this. Very dramatic and neo-noiresque, I appreciated that.

I also enjoyed the different angles and takes. I had not expected the main focus and main character to shift – a pleasant surprise.

A lot of tragedy packed into one film, and many moments I was moved to tears.
So sad how hard it seems for people to just love another (and stop capslocking about important issues).
When we realise how all things have causes and effects and everything influences each other, it gets tougher to assign blame too.
[spoiler]But holy damn was I bothered by how they ruled a homicide _by accident_ as "second degree murder" and "lifelong prison". What the actual fuck, that justice system is seriously fucked. Also wondering what it would have been ruled if he'd been a white guy. Yikes.[/spoiler]

What an incredible audiovisual experience. I’ve seen people calling it ‘showy’, ‘over colour corrected’ or ‘disorienting’, which I think goes to show how accustomed audiences have become to the bland, unimaginative filmmaking served up by mainstream studio films. The soundtrack is also incredible, all of the needle drops are purposeful and every song bangs. Shults uses every tool at his disposal to create this emotionally reasonant experience; the blocking, lighting, aspect ratio, colour and sound choices are all very well thought out and serve the story. The performances are impressive. The story is surprising and interestingly structured, though the second half isn’t as much of an emotional rollercoaster as the first half. It kinda starts to lose its way in the third act, however. It introduces this new storyline relating to Lucas Hedges’ character, which I thought was unnecessary. It’s supposed to add some more meaning about different parental relationships, and while emotionally it hits the mark, the subtext remains vague and messy. Overall, it’s an impressive piece of work that’s recommended to fans of psychological dramas. Fans of PTA (and especially _Magnolia_) will probably get a lot out of this.

8/10

This movie means a lot to me, and I identify very closely with it. I feel like I understood the director/writer/exec. producer's vision so clearly, and it is a truly beautiful way of looking at the ups and downs of life. Not many people seemed to have had the same intimacy with this movie that I did, but I watch it with the people closest to me nonetheless to see the way they interpret it (and me, by extension). I think this movie has a lot to say about a lot of things, without using many words. Hopefully it will touch many others the same way.

A reminder for dudes out there to wear a condom, or your life is destined to screwed if she changes her mind about abortion.

Be a lot better if the music and camera work / colours wasn't so over done and in the audience face.

Way too long and criminally poor ending.

Bleak, but not despondent; brilliant, but not for everyone

If you're into formalism, you'll find plenty here to keep you happy; elaborate camera moves, varying aspect ratios, extreme colour correction, unusual shot composition, a sound design which bleeds into the soundtrack/score (and vice versa), a quite audacious shift in focalisation at the half-way point, and a stunningly concise closing shot. On the other hand, it's an emotionally bruising, deeply upsetting film, which takes its sweet time getting anywhere. It also asks much more of the viewer than your average Marvel movie, and some simply won't want to put in the legwork. Nothing wrong with that, of course, and if you consider cinema as entertainment only, I'd imagine Waves will leave you bored and frustrated. However, if you have the patience and are willing to take the journey on which the film wants to bring you, the cathartic rewards are many.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/YDizB

_Waves_ is a boomer in millennial's clothing because it's a tired old story with a flashy style that's so mismatched it's jarring and doesn't fit because it's far too long.

_Waves_ is a 2-part film (which explains the 135-minute run time) where the director's touch is so present it chokes the film and the music (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) is doused on top of the images rather than blended in them.

The second part is more palatable than the first, somewhat because the director steps back and gets out of the film's way, but mostly due to a knockout performance by Taylor Russell who is a walking miracle and absolutely makes Waves.

The [spoiler] murder [/spoiler] scene alone was fantastic, but Taylor Russell? Wow, what an actress

Waves might have the single biggest 3rd act flop I have ever seen. it's a tragic testament to the quality of it's 1st and 2nd act that I give Waves a 6/10. I highly recommend if you watch this that you leave around the 90-100 minute mark for a solid 8/10 film.

I liked the first half more than the second. The third act seemed to drag a little. The cinematography and music are great.

A little overlong and relies a little too heavily on the music to tell the audience how to feel, but that does not altogether belie the ultimate heart of _Waves_. There is a great film hiding agonizingly close to this final cut--but I'm not sure that it quite hits. It does, however, contain genuine empathy and emotion.

Everything from the story to the cinematography to the soundtrack to the acting - & GODS damn do all of these actors have superb acting chops - creates this immensely impactful story that rings true to real life. It's an emotional gut-punch from start to finish in the best way possible. I discovered that this film was coming out because I had heard bits of the soundtrack (by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross) that my partner was listening to. He pulled up a written preview of the film & we found out that there was an upcoming screening at a small theater in Philly that immediately bought tickets to. One of the best impromptu decisions regarding media that we've ever made.