Over the years we’ve seen Justin Long in a lot of strange situations, many of them drug-influenced, but nothing quite like what happens in The Wave. In the psychedelic comedy from debut director Gille Klabin and writer Carl W. Lucas, Long plays a bored lawyer who is convinced by his buddy, played by Donald Faison, to go on a wild night of partying. Failing to realize that following Donald Faison into anything is practically always a bad idea, Long’s character is pressured into taking a hallucinogenic drug that rocks his world.
It’s the trippy camerawork that immediately sets this movie apart from your average stoner flick, as Long’s entire world shifts into rotoscopic animation ala A Scanner Darkly. The cast includes Tommy Flanagan, Sheila Vand, Katia Winter, and Ronnie Gene Blevins.
SYNOPSIS: Frank (Justin Long), an opportunistic insurance lawyer, thinks he’s in for the time of his life when he goes out on the town to celebrate a soon-to-be promotion with his co-worker, Jeff (Donald Faison), but their night takes a turn for the worst when Frank is dosed with a hallucinogen that alters his perception and changes his life forever. He is thrown into a psychedelic quest through board meetings, nightclubs, shootouts, and alternate dimensions. As Frank ping-pongs across reality, he finds himself on a mission to find a missing girl, himself… and his wallet.
The Wave will be premiering later this month at Fantastic Fest.
