Directing: B+
Acting: A-
Writing: B+
Cinematography: B
Editing: A-

Waves is a movie that truly takes the concept of “two acts” seriously. It runs 135 minutes in length, and about halfway through, everything changes—and more than just saying that might suggest. Even the central character shifts, after a type of loss not often seen on film.

There’s a lot to like about this movie, although I can’t say I’m quite as crazy for it as some critics seem to be. I found the cinematography in particular to be kind of self-consciously stylized. As the story begins, we follow high school student Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr, excellent) through a typical day, and it involves a lot of interior shots of cars being driven down highways and roads, the camera spinning around in horizontal circles, looking outward at the characters packing the vehicle, from its center. It’s very odd, and it happens over and over again. I suspect cinematographer Drew Daniels thought it clever; I found it consistently distracting.

Tyler is in wrestling, and has ambitions to compete at the state level. His father, Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), coaches him and puts a lot of pressure on him. Ronald is married to Catherine (Renée Elise Goldsberry), who is not Tyler’s biological mother but raised him and his sister Emily (Taylor Russell) most of their lives. Much is to be learned, about Tyler and Emily’s biological mother; about what two separate but equally momentous things occurring simultaneously make Tyler begin to spiral; and even eventually about the boy Emily later begins dating (Lucas Hedges), but I won’t spoil any of it. This movie, minor flaws though it has, is still best just experienced.

I will tell you to keep tissues handy. Waves is a definite tear jerker, and in myriad unique ways. Writer-director Trey Edward Shults has drawn entirely well-rounded, multidimensional characters—kind of a relief, given Shults is a white guy and this is mostly about a black family (something I can never help but point out). To be fair, very little about the telling of this story has any dependence on the characters’ race, although it does get at least one vague reference in dialogue and one very overt, malicious one. Whether the telling should have more overt focus on their race is perhaps a debate for another place and time. I’m just here to tell you whether the movie is good and should be seen, and the answers are yes and yes.

As usual, I do have minor quibbles. These kids, Tyler and Emily, get intense focus in sequences that had me wondering where the hell their parents are and why they don’t seem to be more involved in what’s going on. Tyler sees a doctor and gets some very difficult news after a CAT scan, and somehow he goes to this appointment by himself, and then keeps the results from his family. That doesn’t seem to fit all that well with how domineering his father can be; I have a hard time believing Ronald would be “hands off” about this. But he is, evidently to make the storytelling easier.

That said, when Sterling K. Brown is onscreen, he very much justifies all the talk of his being a Best Supporting Actor Oscar contender. Even calling Ronald “domineering” is tricky; he is often shown being very personable and full of love, a guy who loves his children and his children love him, as opposed to being afraid of him. But, Ronald is strict when he needs to be, and the kids understand when to take him seriously. With Tyler, Ronald has too much emotional investment in his son’s success, which predictably complicates Tyler’s feelings about the possibility of letting his father down.

Well, that does happen, in a shockingly tragic and massively consequential way. In essence, Waves is about how easily broad contentment can break down into sadness and grief. Even those with the greatest potential are one or two decisions away from tragedy. Waves does not show this as any sort of “lesson,” but rather just as a compelling story. And then, in the very different second half, which still has plenty to make you keep the tissues at the ready, it shows a family finding their own ways to come back from that grief. Life has a way of turning into something you never could have predicted, and everyone involved just has to learn how to cope.

Waves is a beautiful movie in many ways, and some might even argue that its flaws are part of that beauty. I felt like certain things were just kind of missing, but nothing significant enough to make its narrative fall apart. Honestly if there is any deterrent to watching this movie, it’s how much it’s likely to make you cry. Some people do like a good cry every once in a while, just because. This movie might just be the emotional catharsis you need.

Overall: B+