Review: ‘Waves’ tears itself apart with violence, then finds healing

“Waves” is a movie that tears itself apart halfway through with an unspeakable act of violence, then miraculously heals itself.

Whatever your reaction to this ambitious, boldly original and hard-hitting family drama, you could never accuse writer-director Trey Edward Shults of holding anything back. He leaves it all on the floor, as they say in basketball.

So, in a sense, Shults has made two movies. The first is an angry film about toxic masculinity in a dysfunctional family that lays the groundwork for that violence. The second, softer and more emotional in tone, is how the family can remake itself by embracing its feminine side.

Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) has a bright future ahead of him: The high school senior is a star wrestler, a good student and has a wonderful girlfriend, Alexis (Alexa Demie). He is from an affluent family — his father, Ronald (Sterling K. Brown), owns his own construction business, while mother Catharine (Renée Elise Goldsberry) is a counselor. Sister Emily (Taylor Russell) is quiet and reserved, spending most of her time in her room.

Ronald constantly pushes Tyler, both physically, with punishing workouts, and mentally.

“We can’t afford the luxury of being average,” Ronald says. “We have to work 10 times as hard as others.”

Tyler develops a shoulder injury but tries to hide it. He has been trained not to admit weakness, and besides, if he has surgery, his wrestling career would be over.

So Tyler begins to self-medicate. He steals some opioid pills his father takes for a bum knee. He starts doing drugs with friends and drinking alcohol. Once a bright, engaging young man, Tyler descends into a sullen, moody boy prone to bursts of anger. When Alexis tells him she’s pregnant, he can barely hold it together.

It’s...