First-time feature screenwriters Hunter Andrews (short Sunny Life Farms) and Eoin Doran (short Perched) along with first-time-ever director Cal McMau pull off maybe the definition of an impossible feat — they craft a perfect film. It’s something that doesn’t get said lightly, is often impossible to achieve, but there is absolutely not a singular frame or moment that could be changed in the tightest and utterly brilliant 90-minute Wasteman. The film is, frame for frame, the best movie of the year. It becomes a focal point for the career of David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus; The Long Walk) who continues to shock and awe audiences with a perfectly juxtaposed Tom Blyth (Scott and Sid; Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) to balance his performance.
The movie focuses on Taylor (Jonsson) who is a rather ideal inmate; he keeps his head down, stays out of trouble, he wants to serve his time and get out. Nothing about Taylor screams troublesome and he finally gets his chance to make parole. He just has to survive and keep on doing what he’s been doing for the next few weeks; shouldn’t be an issue. All this changes when he gets a new cellmate, Dee (Blyth) who wants to make waves. Dee knows he’s going to be in prison for a *long time* and decides he wants to be the drug kingpin which not only puts a target on his back but also puts Taylor in the cross hairs of the guards, the inmates, potentially jeopardizing his parole if he gets involved.
L-R: David Jonsson as Taylor and Tom Blyth as Dee in WASTEMAN. Photo courtesy of TIFF.
The other drug gang comes after Dee in his cell, relentlessly beating him and putting a new tension between Dee and Taylor which pushes their understanding, their friendly relationship, and their lives. Without spoiling anything, this is a turning point that takes what has been a calm, calculated prison drama to new heights and dramatic intensity. From that moment forward (about the half way mark of the movie), the gas pedal is pushed through the floor and is never let back up for a truly intense and uncomfortable 90 minutes that just weigh on the audience, engrossing them in a world of intensity and power that is elevated by its brilliant leading men.
Wasteman lives and dies with its performances through and through, and the performances from both Jonsson and Blyth are nothing shy of exceptional and brilliant. Jonsson continues to shock and delight audiences with his cadence, timing, and emotion, capturing the essence of a man who’s almost out but must find a way to survive and get out at any cost at this point with his back fully up against the wall. Meanwhile, completely juxtaposing his performance is the incomparable Blyth as he also gives a career-defining performance as a man driven by self-preservation and greed, knowing he is stuck in this scenario for the rest of his existence, trying to make it as “painless” as possible. Pairing them together and forcing them to face their own decisions brings a heavy punch that Andrews and Doran do not shy away from, creating some of the most tense and brutal 90 minutes a movie can provide. Every second and every frame is calculated from performance to script to direction, making Wasteman one of the most well-rounded films of the year and, arguably, of all time. It’s a movie that simply is undeniable in every facet possible.
Screening during Toronto International Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head to the official Toronto International Film Festival Wasteman webpage.
Final Score: 5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
Hey Justin,
Great piece, but you know Cal has made many great short films before and awesome commercials..he`s Calum Macdiarmid.
Peace.