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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 23 November 2019
'Waves' explores the ebb, flow of a family's love

By JOCELYN NOVECK class black family in Florida, of Tyler's life. That life is com-
Associated Press rewards repeat viewing. posed of competitive wres-
Rarely has a movie's title There's just so much to ab- tling, homework, training,
been so apt as that of sorb, from the assault of beach outings and late-
"Waves," a film that makes sound and bright color and night parties. But life with
you feel like you've been the propulsive soundtrack dad Ronald takes its toll. At
knocked flat over by a in the film's first half, to the the diner after church one
fierce current — only to be more reflective pace and morning, father challeng-
rescued by a gentle, sooth- subtle glow of the second. es son to an arm wrestling
ing flow of warm surf that (The supremely confident match right at the table. At
arrives in the nick of time. Shults takes his time; the home, he lifts weights with
This third feature by the film runs two hours and 15 his son, exhorting him to
gifted young writer-director minutes.) work harder.
Trey Edward Shults, a por- And we haven't even got- This image released by A24 shows Kelvin Harrison Jr., left, and The point is to excel. "We
trait of an upper-middle ten to the performances Sterling K. Brown in a scene from "Waves." are not," father tells son,
Associated Press "afforded the luxury of be-
yet. "Waves" offers up a sex- tively, a harried stepmother ing average." It's hardly a
tet of them, all superb. The struggling to hold things to- shock when we see Tyler
most recognizable names gether, and a fun-loving, popping painkillers and
are Sterling K. Brown, who passionate girlfriend. swigging alcohol to stay
plays a flawed and domi- Shults, who is white, has afloat.
neering but loving patri- said he did not initially plan The balance of Tyler's high-
arch, and Lucas Hedges, for the family in "Waves" to octane life is disrupted,
deeply winning as the necessarily be a black one, dangerously, by two sud-
love interest for the family's but wanted first and fore- den setbacks: an athletic
daughter. most to work again with injury and a major com-
But prepare to be bowled Harrison Jr., and gave him plication involving his girl-
over by two relative new- the choice of roles. Harrison friend. His sleek veneer starts
comers: actress Taylor Rus- chose to play the son, Tyler. to crumble; we watch as
sell, who quite simply has The film begins with the he becomes a frustrated,
the most expressive young most peaceful of images: a angry kid. He tests bound-
face to be seen onscreen young girl riding on a bicy- aries with his parents and
in many a season, and Kel- cle on an empty road, sun provokes fights with Alexis.
vin Harrison Jr., who can be squinting through the trees. And then tragedy strikes. It
cocky and vulnerable in But then we move to a dif- comes with crushing force.
the same split second. Both ferent vehicle: a car ride And the film takes a dra-
of these wonderful young shot in a dizzying (literally) matic pivot.
actors break our hearts. 360-degree shot. As the family copes with the
We'll surely be seeing them This first part of the film, fo- unthinkable event that's
again and again. cusing on 17-year-old Tyler, engulfed them, suddenly
Renee Elise Goldsberry and unfolds with startling speed. Emily (Russell), the unher-
Alexa Demie round out the The camera rushes in, out, alded sister, becomes the
cast with empathetic and and around in circles, re- focus. And the movie slows
appealing work as, respec- flecting the frenetic pace down, palpably.q

Pollstar says U2 top touring act over the

last decade

The touring trade publica-
tion tracks data on tours
globally. It says U2 grossed
$1.03 billion in ticket sales
f rom November 2009 to
November 2019. They were
followed by The Rolling
Stones, which had just un-
der a billion with $929 mil-
lion; Ed Sheeran was third
with $922 million; Taylor
Swift was fourth with an es-
timated $900 million; and
Beyonce was at No. 5 with
$857 million.
Rounding out the top 10
In this June 11, 2018 file photo, Bono of U2 performs during a were Bon Jovi, Paul Mc-
concert at the Apollo Theater in New York. Cartney, Coldplay, Bruce
Associated Press Springsteen & the E Street
Associated Press Rock and Roll Hall of Fam- Band and Roger Waters.
NEW YORK (AP) — It was ers raked in over $1 billion in VenuesNow, Pollstar's sister
a beautiful decade for U2 sales to be named the artist outlet, named London's O2
on the touring front, as the of the decade by Pollstar. the top grossing venue.q