# Waves (2019 film)
**Waves** is a 2019 American drama film written and directed by [Trey Edward Shults](https://www.edgepedia.org/trey-edward-shults), his third feature after *[Krisha](https://www.edgepedia.org/krisha)* (2016) and *It Comes at Night* (2017). The story unfolds in [South Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-florida) and centers on an African-American household in the suburbs, headed by a father who means well yet rules with a heavy hand, as its members work through love, forgiveness, and reunion following a devastating loss.[1](https://a24films.com/films/waves) A24 released it in United States theaters on November 15, 2019.[1](https://a24films.com/films/waves)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Trey Edward Shults, his third feature after *Krisha* and *It Comes at Night*[1](https://a24films.com/films/waves) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/06/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-film) |
| Cast | Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Taylor Russell, Alexa Demie, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Sterling K. Brown[1](https://a24films.com/films/waves) |
| US release | November 15, 2019, distributed by A24[1](https://a24films.com/films/waves) |
| Runtime and rating | About 135 minutes (BFI lists 136m 27s); rated R in the United States[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama) • [4](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/waves) |
| Critical scores | 84% Tomatometer from 258 reviews and 81% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore of 80 (generally favorable) on Metacritic[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waves_2019) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/) |
| Key creatives | Cinematography by Drew Daniels; score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-13/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-sterling-k-brown) |
| Festival premiere | Telluride Film Festival, followed by the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/06/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-film) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and structure
The film centers on Tyler Williams ([Kelvin Harrison Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelvin-harrison-jr)), a popular high-school senior and wrestler in an upper-middle-class Black family in South Florida. His father Ronald ([Sterling K. Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/sterling-k-brown)) pushes him hard, his girlfriend Alexis (Alexa Demie) is troubled by news about their future, and he hides a shoulder injury with painkillers while his life spirals.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/06/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-film) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html)
The plot hinges on a moment of drama about halfway through, after which the movie pauses and continues at a tangent.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama) Tyler's story climaxes with an accidental crime that has irreversible consequences, and the film's point of view shifts from Tyler to his timid younger sister Emily ([Taylor Russell](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-russell)), who grows from a shy, nearly silent girl into someone who experiences first love and begins to heal from the central tragedy.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/19/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-simplistic-family-drama) • [10](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2019/12/29/waves) Critics were divided on this pivot: the *Chicago Sun-Times* called the radical change in plot course a fresh and bold choice, while other reviewers found the transition jarring and the second half slower.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/) • [10](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2019/12/29/waves)
## Style and music
**Visual approach.** Drew Daniels, Shults's regular cinematographer, photographed the film vividly, with a distinctive palette in the first half of deep blues spiked with bursts of citrus that runs from Tyler's bedroom to his Instagram filters and the stained-glass windows of his church.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama) The film uses shifting aspect ratios of 1.85:1, 2.35:1, and 1.33:1, along with wheeling camerawork and frenetic editing.[3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama) The *Los Angeles Times* noted the camera endlessly twirling around the seats of a speeding vehicle and through the jets of a sprinkler system.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html)
**Music.** Shults envisioned *Waves* as a music-driven film, mixing contemporary songs from artists including [Animal Collective](https://www.edgepedia.org/animal-collective), Kendrick Lamar, and [Radiohead](https://www.edgepedia.org/radiohead), sometimes writing songs and lyrics into the script itself.[11](https://manuals.plus/m/642821a69259d45c8f362aabefa44141895a0a8dae52ed942f3cfc4c7559d323.pdf) The score is by [Trent Reznor](https://www.edgepedia.org/trent-reznor) and Atticus Ross.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html) The title refers both to the tides heard in the background of many scenes and to the Kanye West song that goes conspicuously unplayed on the soundtrack.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-13/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-sterling-k-brown)
## Casting and representation
Shults reportedly wrote *Waves* without thinking of the color of his protagonists, casting Black actors only after Kelvin Harrison Jr., who had worked with Shults on *It Comes at Night*, insisted he was perfect for the role of Tyler; conversation and improvisation between Shults and his Black players then strengthened the film's awareness of color.[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html) Reviewers differed on the result: the *Sydney Morning Herald* found that Shults neither exploits nor trivializes the African-American experience, while the *Independent* argued the film refuses to interrogate its racial subtext, and *Sight and Sound* detected an unsettling feeling that Shults was out of his depth telling a story about a family of color.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waves_2019) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html) • [3](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama)
## Reception
*Waves* premiered at the [Telluride Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/telluride-film-festival) and screened at Toronto before its November 2019 theatrical release.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/06/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-film) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 84% Tomatometer from 258 reviews, with the critics consensus reading, "An up-close look at one family's emotional ups and downs, *Waves* captures complicated dynamics with tenderness and grace," and an 81% audience score.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waves_2019) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 80 based on 45 critic reviews, with 40 positive and 5 mixed and none negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers singled out the performances and the craft. *The Hollywood Reporter* wrote that the label "teen drama" does not begin to convey the film's emotional scope, and *Variety* credited its color, energy, electronic music, and a quartet of career-making performances.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/) The *Washington Post* described it as exhilarating and terrifying like adolescence itself, and the *San Francisco Chronicle* noted that the film tears itself apart halfway through with an act of violence and then heals itself.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/) Common Sense Media called it an intense, powerful drama whose soundtrack, cinematography, and honest reflection of high-school culture make it a magnet for teens as well as parents.[4](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/waves)
## References
1. [Waves, A24 official film page](https://a24films.com/films/waves)
2. [Waves review – stylish family tragedy soars before washing away, The Guardian (Toronto, 2019)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/06/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-film)
3. [Waves review: a fast and furious teen melodrama, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/waves-review-fast-furious-teen-melodrama)
4. [Waves – Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/waves)
5. [Waves (2019), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waves_2019)
6. [Waves critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/waves/critic-reviews/)
7. [Review: Gripping 'Waves' bubbles over with talent to watch, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-13/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-sterling-k-brown)
8. [Waves review: A family drama that is all dazzle and no thought, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/waves-review-trey-edward-schults-sterling-k-brown-release-date-trailer-a9286156.html)
9. [Waves review – bombastic family drama, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/19/waves-review-trey-edward-shults-simplistic-family-drama)
10. [Waves, Mediaversity Reviews](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/film-reviews/2019/12/29/waves)
11. [Waves press notes](https://manuals.plus/m/642821a69259d45c8f362aabefa44141895a0a8dae52ed942f3cfc4c7559d323.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2015 to 2019 › Drama films 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license