Waves (2019) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

84%

Tomatometer

256 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified Ratings

The epic emotional journey of a suburban African American family as they navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the wake of a tragic loss.

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Waves

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Critics Consensus

An up-close look at one family's emotional ups and downs, Waves captures complicated dynamics with tenderness and grace.

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Critics Reviews

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David Stratton

The Australian

All the performances are excellent and perfectly pitched between reality and melodrama. And visually the film follows the same pattern: very creatively photographed by Drew Daniels, it also succeeds in being both "real" and heightened...

Jul 16, 2020

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Shults is saying nothing new here. Nor does he exploit or trivialise the African-American experience. It's a powerful and plausible tale but it's told with such a bombardment of sound and image that he leaves you no opportunity to think for yourself.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 13, 2020

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Roxana Hadadi

Pajiba

The emotional through line of Waves and its exploration of forgiveness give shape to a movie that often feels like a mixtape.

Mar 25, 2020

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Calum Cooper

Source (Scotland)

Shults has crafted a gorgeously visual, and uniquely helmed movie that celebrates the best of romantic connection, and is unafraid to condemn the entitlement and disrespect that plagues so many relationships, whether platonic or romantic.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 14, 2024

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Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

Showcasing the habitual strictness of black parenting on screen is lazy without foundation and substance, but that’s exactly what Shults does.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 14, 2024

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M.N. Miller

Ready Steady Cut

Waves has such a livewire pulse it’s practically alive with energy and a deep emotional current that runs to the surface.

Rated: 5/5

May 11, 2024

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Audience Reviews

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Matt Spectacular movie. Fascinating coming of age movie. Great acting. Great story Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/20 Full Review Jan O Very entertaining. I liked it more than I thought I would. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/20 Full Review SD Glorious filmmaking. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/06/20 Full Review MSR Nothing short of the emotional journey promised. As audibly amazing as it is visually stunning. The rhythm of the film moves and moves you through the story so well. Once the films ends, you feel like you've been involved in the Williams's lives so intimately. The most personal movie for me out of 2019. A must-see for the decade. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/05/20 Full Review Jayna Felt like two separate movies. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/25/19 Full Review Jessica B Great movie - perfect amount of suspense/action/love- but come on with the ending - bummed Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/21/19 Full Review Read all reviews

Waves

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Cast & Crew

Trey Edward Shults Director Kelvin Harrison Jr. Tyler Taylor Russell Emily Sterling K. Brown Ronald Lucas Hedges Luke Alexa Demie Alexis

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Waves

Waves: Official Clip - Fighting His Parents