The Wave (2019 film)
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| The Wave | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Gille Klabin |
| Written by | Carl W. Lucas |
| Produced by | Joshua Bunting |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Aaron Grasso |
| Edited by | Lana Wolverton |
| Music by | Angie Lee Cobbs |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $8,101.[2] |
The Wave is a 2019 film directed by distributed by .
Plot[]
Frank, an insurance lawyer, finds discrepancies in the $4M insurance policy of a fireman who'd recently died from a heart attack and is eventually persuaded to celebrate with co-worker Jeff the night before presenting the information to the company's board.
The two men visit club el Madrid, where Frank briefly meets a homeless man who begins bathing in the club bathroom's sink. Frank and Jeff share drinks with two women, Natalie and Theresa, and the group decides to go to a house party where Frank and Theresa are offered hallucinogen by a man named Aeolus.
Theresa administers the drug to Frank, causing him to suddenly wake up alone in the house the next morning. As Frank attempts to make sense of his surroundings, an Asian family enters the house and immediately call the police as Frank runs out the back door without his wallet. After convincing a passing cab to take him home for three times the usual fare, Frank makes it back to his house where he argues with his wife, Cheryl, as he hastily dresses for work.
Upon slamming a bedroom door to protect himself from an alarm clock thrown by Cheryl, Frank discovers he's been transported to the office where he is immediately greeted by Jeff and escorted to the board meeting. After presenting the insurance claim information, Frank has disturbing visions of the board reacting gleefully about the $4M policy denial. He goes to the bathroom, sick, and agrees with Jeff that it is likely he is still high.
Cheryl calls him and chews him out because all of their accounts have been emptied. Frank's boss tells Jeff to take him home but the pair instead goes back to the club in an attempt to find Aeolus (and Frank's wallet). Failing to find Theresa and Natalie, they decide to wait. While Jeff naps, Frank discovers he can't charge his phone in Jeff's car and slaps the dash in frustration, suddenly turning the day to night.
The men team up with Natalie who thinks she knows "The Guy" that was working the party and offers to introduce him. The trio attempt to leave in Jeff's car but it does not start. While waiting for the car to move Frank witnesses an accident, leaves the car, and wakes up next to Theresa laying in a field, but soon snaps back into Jeff's car as it stops near the dealer's house.
Inside the residence, Richie offers Frank a multitude of drugs to bring him down, and Frank starts ingesting massive amounts. He blasts away on the chair to a mythical place where Theresa explains that the universe is trying to achieve balance.
Frank snaps back to inside the car with Jeff and Natalie as they are being shot at by Richie and Lamont for drugs that Frank stole. Richie takes them back to his place where Lamont ties up Jeff and Natalie and tortures Frank. Frank calls Cheryl to get the money from her parents but she hangs up. Frank then snaps back to the party the previous night and confronts Aeolus. He sits down and discovers his wallet. Frank transports to outside of the club during daytime and then back to Richie's. The homeless man from el Madrid shows up with $240,000 in cash.
Jeff drives Natalie back to el Madrid where they find Theresa, who is now a completely different person. It turns out all of the money missing from Frank's accounts was done by Frank while time traveling in order to pay Richie. Frank finds himself back at work faced with filling out paperwork for a personal insurance policy worth $4M. Finally realizing the universe's message, he makes the fireman's widow the beneficiary of his policy. His boss sees the policy before Frank is able to mail it and threatens to fire him if he does not change it. Frank disregards the threat and transports again, this time back to the accident outside of the el Madrid club where he is immediately hit by the intoxicated driver, his boss, while trying to assist accident victims.
Though Frank ends up deceased on the hood of the car, he wakes up next to the original Theresa and the drugs he stole from Ritchie are found by the police in the trunk of his boss's car.
Cast[]
- Tommy Flanagan as Aeolus
- Justin Long as Frank
- Sheila Vand as Theresa
- Donald Faison as Jeff
- Katia Winter as Natalie
- Bill Sage as Jonas
- Sarah Minnich as Cheryl
- Ronnie Gene Blevins as Ritchie
Critical reception[]
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. As of June 2020, the film holds a 67% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 36 reviews with an average rating of 5.78 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Much like its addled protagonist, The Wave struggles to stay on target, but Justin Long's performance helps this pleasantly offbeat sci-fi fantasy find its way."[3]
References[]
- ^ "The Wave". Facebook. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ The Wave. Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "The Wave (2020)". Retrieved 13 June 2020 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
External links[]
- 2019 films
- English-language films
- American films