While I have no proof of it, it does seem like the advent of social media has made people more hypersensitive to spoilers.
While my dad famously never wanted to know anything about the movie he was going to see aside from the start time and theater number (he did not even want to know the title), this was most apparent to me in 2019, when I saw a little movie called Avengers: Endgame. One of the biggest cinematic events of my lifetime, I was unaware of the fact that just mentioning the fact that the film dealt with time travel spoiled it (at least for a friend of mine).
It was perhaps this reason I was not willing later on that year to review what I would call my favorite of 2019 (one of the best movie years of the century), Trey Edward Shults’ Waves.
Even with the film being nearly six years old and some of my friends already having seen the film (and adoring it), I will still tread carefully for those who have not even heard of it. It follows the life of an African American family in the suburbs of Miami, most notably the two high school aged children.
Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is a wrestling star that is pushed by his dad Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), while also seemingly unable to express his feelings to his dad, step mom (Renée Elise Goldsberry) or his girlfriend Alexis (Alex Demie).
Then, something truly calamitous happens about halfway through the film, which I would never dream of spoiling no matter how old the film is. What caught me the most off guard is how the movie switches its focus to that of Tyler’s sister Emily (Taylor Russell in one of the more extraordinary breakout performances of the century). She soon deals with her own relationships and struggles before our eyes, including one with a love interest named Luke (Lucas Hedges).
The rest of the film is up for you to discover, and to marvel at. It is worth noting how truly sublime everyone is in the film (this is probably my favorite performance from Brown to date). There is a scene with Emily and her dad at a lake that just guts the viewer everytime (I tried to watch it again on youtube at work and stopped midway through: I did not need my boss asking me why I was in tears.)
Why the title? I think it is simple: The film hits you with wave after wave of emotional authentic realism, whether positive or negative. You feel emotionally and almost spiritually inundated.
(As of this writing, Waves is free on Plex, Xumo Play, Pluto TV, and on the YouTube TV subscription. You can also rent it on Amazon.)
Nothing else to say 