“If you are a parent, it is heartbreaking - if you are a young adult it is terrifying. But as filmmaking goes, it feels vital.”
★★★★
- Jamie East, The Sun

“[A] bravura piece of film-making by Trey Edward Shults.”
★★★★
- Brian Viner, Daily Mail

“The film oozes cinematic style (every shot has a point, every camera movement an intention), while Shults's screenplay dives deep and tackles essential themes - parenting, forgiveness and the release of death. It's beautiful work.”
★★★★★
- Kevin Maher, The Times

“Waves isn't merely a film about teenagers, it's virtually a teenager in film form. It's also the kind of cinema that keeps you young.”
★★★★
- Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph

“The movie is perfectly legible in conventional linear terms. But where it goes, how it gets there and how it comes back again, is more unexpected.”
★★★★
- Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“A compassionate meditation on love, loss and family, Waves is hyper-stylish yet emotionally grounded. Despite some very high drama, it has a huge heart, and hits you where it hurts.”
★★★★
- Alex Godfrey, Empire Magazine

“Despite clearly being a film of two halves and filling a lengthy runtime, Waves delivers a moving, empathetic, shocking, and sensual film.”
★★★★★
- Lewis Knight, Daily Mirror

“The artistic evolution Shults is undergoing makes him as exciting as anyone at work -- he's as sharp as the young Darren Aronofsky, and his heart is only growing larger.”
★★★★
- Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out