Sometimes you have to dive in or life passes you by.
Beautiful Wave certainly has its moments of predictability, linearity, and recycling of old themes, but it's put together with a sweetness and
kindness, a simple and honest sort of construction that certainly sees characters traverse fairly typical melodramatic arcs. Yet by film's end, it comes
together beautifully, though expectedly, and yields a warm, tender, and honest resolution that, to be sure, audiences can see coming well beyond the
here and the
now of the film's literal and figurative long road towards destiny. Yet here's a case where simple and predictable actually works, where fairly shallow
character depth, a lack of thematic originality, and a routine cadence are made less painful by the underlying tenderness and honesty at work, even as
the film traverses very well-worn ground. Beautiful Wave simply reinforces good vibes and exudes a positive energy. Its characters are
everyday sort of people with everyday lives and everyday dreams, and simply witnessing a good turn of events and seeing that in time and in fate and
in the decision to move forward and to listen to that little voice inside that there is good and
not simply more bad to be found makes this an inwardly-satisfying cinematic experience.
Destiny in sight.
Nicole (Aimee Teegarden) is a teenager living in New York with her mother. Her father's deceased, and she spends her time swimming at a local pool
and reading a philosophy book her father left behind. Her mother is sending her across the country to live with grandma Sue (Patricia Richardson)
who runs a surf shop on the California coast. There, Nicole finds it difficult to settle in. Sue's pushing her granddaughter to try her hand at surfing,
but Nicole's
more
comfortable in the pool and by herself; she's certainly not one to get caught up in the surfer culture. Nicole befriends Kayla (Alicia Ziegler), the surf
shop manager and a girl of her own age. Nicole learns that her grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, was himself a surfer who mapped out his favorite
destination: "Beautiful Wave," located south of the border along the Mexican Pacific coast. Nicole feels an urge to travel to "Beautiful Wave." She
recruits
Nicole and two local boys to come along. They fix up her grandfather's old surfing van and set out on an adventure of fun, surf, and self-discovery.
Beautiful Wave doesn't immediately pull its audience into a figurative emotional roller coaster of crashing waves and heavy currents. The
film
leisurely goes about its business of identifying its characters and putting into place the seeds which will sprout an adventure of self-discovery. The
picture masks none of its intentions, and by building towards an expected climax audiences are granted room to come to know the characters and
care
for their relationships and well-beings, which only enhances the goodness that comes at the end. Indeed, this is not simply a "Surfing" movie, but a
journey towards inner peace and a rebuilding of family. It's about discovering a future that the past had seemingly destroyed, about finding oneself
away from a comfort zone, and discovering that life has a way of righting wrongs and helping those who seek a way to move on. Director David
Mueller's picture touches the heart and stirs the soul, but does so gently as if only serving as a reminder of the good things in life, a reminder that a
little effort and escape from under the blanket of the past goes a long way towards creating a better future.
Beautiful Wave's ability to move audiences despite a predictable arc stems from a good script that's more concerned with the destination
than it is how to get there. The movie enjoys a pure rhythm. It's kindly, easy on the eyes and ears, and centered more around a family film
structure,
leaving behind verbal and visual nastiness in favor of warm characters and real characters rather than crude characters. It flows evenly and
tenderly.
The acting is quite good and genuine, which solidifies the picture's tenor and message. Aimee Teegarden, at first, plays her part rather straight and
with little life, but considering her character's place in life, it's the perfect sort of closed-off performance. As the character opens up, so does the
performance, and even in the film's touching finale the actress brings an emotional balance and a sense of completeness to the part. The supporting
cast is just fine, too, all of them capturing the film's heart and demonstrating an understanding of its purpose through their performances. The
movie never wants for
nicer filming locales, and the natural beauty of the Pacific coastal areas only reinforces the sense of purpose, fate, future, and goodness that shape
the film.
Beautiful Wave's 1080p Blu-ray transfer isn't a sparkler, but the image appears naturally filmic and nicely balanced. Grain is somewhat dense
and the image may not perfectly
sharp, but the steadiness and natural appearance of the whole make this a pleasant watch. Details are acceptable, sometimes a bit smooth and flat and
not
intricately defined, but clothes, a wooden table, and all of the little accents inside of the surfing van and making up its old exterior will catch the
audiences' eye. Colors are perhaps
slightly washed out but remain consistent and pleasant throughout. The image is never terribly vibrant, but neither is it in any way too dull. Blacks are
generally
acceptable, though perhaps a touch too dark in select nighttime exteriors. Flesh tones range from slightly pale to slightly rosy. Light blocking is evident
across
a few backgrounds, but the image appears otherwise free of any obvious and distracting unwanted elements. This is a good, steady image that should
satisfy most viewers.
Beautiful Wave crashes onto Blu-ray with a consistent and pleasant Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The opening title music plays with
good clarity, fine front-side spacing, and a fair low end. Those qualities remain throughout with both score and popular music inserted into the film.
Even when music is integrated with the sounds of crashing waves, both remain steady, pleasant, and work well together. The track captures a fair bit of
light ambience, whether outside an airport, in the surf shop, on the beach, or out in the water. The surrounds aren't consistently or energetically used
-- much of the track remains situated up across the front -- but a little bit of back-channel activity generally goes a long way. Dialogue remains balanced
and
accurate, smoothly delivered form the center and never becoming lost or garbled with surrounding elements, whether ambient or musical. This is a
good,
smooth, easy track that
might not stretch sound systems to their limits but that serves the material very well.
Beautiful Wave won't win any awards for originality, but even as audiences know where the movie is going, it still manages to impress thanks to
an evident tenderness and well-meaning purpose. The picture is beautifully filmed, nicely acted, and thematically moving. It's simple, and sometimes
"simple" is the best course of action for a movie striving to leave audiences feeling warm and positive about life. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of
Beautiful Wave features quality video, fine audio, but sadly offers no supplements. Despite the absence of extras, Beautiful Wave
comes highly recommended on the strength of the film and the fair technical quality of the Blu-ray disc.
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