I thought I would post this review of ‘Wasteman’ in February when it is released in the UK but I can’t wait any longer to talk about it. ‘Wasteman’ was the one film that when I selected it to watch I knew it will be outside of my comfort zone. But from the moment it begins it makes it clear that this is not a usual prison drama that is built around spectacle. Instead Cal McMau’s debut feature shows us a world shaped by survival, unspoken rules, routine and dominance while asking us to sit with the characters rather than judge them for what they’ve done and who they are. What follows is a tense, intimate and often unsettling story that is not meant to be a show but a reality.

As always this is your sign that this review contains some spoilers but they won’t ruin the plot.

The way the film starts with a video from inside the prison before the narrative actually begins feels almost confrontations as it feels like a warning to us the viewers that what we are about to see isn’t fictionalised or made to but real and lived in. To me that opening sets the tone perfectly because it allows us to get used to the prison life before fully immersing us in it. 

The centre of the story is Taylor played with extraordinary talent by David Jonsson. Taylor is serving a long sentence for what is framed as a petty crime and has learned to survive prison by becoming invisible and useful by cutting hair, keeping his head down and avoiding conflict. David Jonsson performance is in the details such as the way Taylor watched before he speaks, understands the prison hierarchy, thinks before he speak, the heaviness behind his silence and his sense of self preservation. Everything Taylor does is shaped by his wish to connect with his son whom he hasn’t seen since he was a baby. Rather than letting go of fatherhood Taylor clings to it as it becomes his emotional anchor and his motivation to remain invisible until he is out and able to connect with his son. When Taylor is offered early parole due to prison overcrowding it’s like he is finally letting himself dream of reconnecting and being there for his son. While you’d expect Taylor to celebrate and be happy he only grows more cautions  because he knows that all it takes its one mistake and everything could be taken away. 

That’s when Dee enters and changes things around. Tom Blyth as Dee is magnetic, threatening, volatile but also human. Dee is everything Taylor isn’t. Dee wants power and wants to be everything Taylor is hiding away from. Dee sees Taylor as both useful and malleable as he is not a threat to him. What makes it so compelling is that their dynamic is never one sided. There are moments of laughter between them, moments of softness, moments where you understand why they might trust each other or at least want to. I won’t give away more than I already have as it’s a film you’ll have to see to understand what I mean. 

What’s complex about their dynamic is that Dee isn’t just a villain and Taylor isn’t just a victim. ‘Wasteman’ allows the audience to understand both points of view without forcing us to take sides. You not only see and understand why Dee behaves the way he does in a system built on fear, violence and dominance but you also see why Taylor is trying to stay hidden and invisible. As Taylor’s release date gets closer every choice and action feels heavy. The closer it gets the more you begin to wonder not if Taylor will get out or not but if he can stay true to himself when everything around him changes. The way the tension builds the closer you get to the end its electric. I have to be honest I was sweating waiting to find out what happens at the end and I was still shocked  by the turn of events. 

The way McMau shows us prison life is gripping, raw and brutal. McMau shows us the reality, the lives and while there is violence present he never makes a spectacle out of it. Instead McMau makes it clear that it’s not the violence itself but the threat of violence that could erupt at any moment that is the real threat. 

It goes without a doubt that the chemistry between David Jonsson and Tom Blyth is exceptional. They deliver performances that elevate the story through Jonsson’s ability to communicate years of suffering through stillness and Blyth’s ease to shift between coiled restraint and menace with a buried vulnerability he knows he can never afford to show. ‘Wasteman’ isn’t just about prison but about the danger of hope, the cost of invisibility and the choices people make when survival and redemption kick in. Watching David Jonsson and Tom Blyth  in ‘Wastemen’ and seeing them at the premiere felt like I got the lucky ticket to see them before they make something even bigger. And trust me I can bet on the fact that this is only the beginning for both of them and exceptional things are coming from them and the director Cal McMau. 

‘Wasteman’ will be released in the UK on the 20th of February and it’s a must see!