Parents try their best to give their kids the opportunities they themselves were not afforded. Sometimes, however, it can be to the detriment of the child or the family as a whole, no matter how well-intentioned it is. This is the case with the character Ronald in A24’s drama, Waves.

The film follows a suburban family, whose father routinely pushes his kids to work harder in order to succeed in life. It’s an interesting message on how these actions and pressures can lead to further conflict and potentially-catastrophic events.

Our own Nancy Tapia had a chance to speak with the cast of the film, and during a roundtable with star Kelvin Harrison Jr., she brought up a line in the film where the father said something along the lines of “We cannot afford to be average.”

RELATED – Waves Director Shot The Film Like A Documentary

Harrison reflected on that idea with his own personal experience with his father, and how it’s both important and dangerous to parent in this way.

“There’s something by dad used to always tell me while growing up. He was a classically trained musician, and he grew up in the ‘60s, and it was a very specific time for artists. He also grew up around some of the best musicians in the world…He pushed me to the limit. He always wanted to remind me that it won’t be the same. If you really want to create a life for yourself outside of our home, you’re gonna have to focus, to understand the racial disparity that we exist in in our country right now.

“It’s a tough thing to kind of swallow, but I also think that’s parenting out of fear, and also with a lot a love. Sometimes too much love. So it’s just trying to find balance and acknowledge the truths, but also show the love that needs to come into that relationship as well.”

I think that last part there is one of the key messages of the movie — that it’s not bad to push your kids, but it’s important to balance it out with love. Obviously, this disconnect between parent and child isn’t uncommon, and from what we were able to tell based on the actor’s comments, this disconnect is what has resonated with teenage viewers of the film.

And it makes sense that the connections would be there, as this a film that was semi-autobiographical in nature from writer-director Trey Edward Shults. Nancy had a chance to sit down and speak to him about the movie as a whole, and you can check out that full interview HERE.

Waves is currently out in select theaters.

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