‘Waves’ is a beautifully tragic tale about life

Posted on December 13, 2019

By MARK VIOLA

While some stories revel in the extraordinary and fantastic, others find the beauty and tragedy of the ordinary and mundane.

That is the case with “Waves,” the latest film from writer/director Trey Edward Shults (“It Comes At Night,” “Krishna”). Although the story here does have elements and events that (thankfully) do not happen to us all, the characters are always relatable, and even when they make mistakes, we can understand them (while not condone them).

The film has an unusual structure to it in that the pivotal moment resides squarely in the middle of its runtime. Everything before it helps us understand what eventually happens, and everything after depicts the repercussions. Although it works for the film’s goals, it does make the story feel a bit slow at times. “Waves” definitely seems longer than its 135-minute runtime, both because it has so much story to tell, and because there are moments, especially in the last 30 or so minutes, that are purposefully slow, because what is happening is slow.

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