'Between Two Waves,' From Courtney and Mark Sposato, Knows When to Hold Back

'Between Two Waves,'

 From Courtney and Mark Sposato, Knows When to Hold Back

“Between Two Waves” has enough sense not to explain itself to death.

Written, produced, and directed by Courtney and Mark Sposato, the film does not spend its time jumping up and down every time something strange happens. Cass and Tate Milligan return to their rural childhood home after their mother’s death, and the place does not take long to get under your skin. But the Sposatos do not keep tapping you on the shoulder to make sure you are scared, that you noticed the clue, or that you understand what the silence means.

Cass thinks the house is haunted. Tate thinks Cass may be coming apart. They have been estranged for years, and it becomes clear almost immediately that they did not leave that house carrying the same version of the past.

And off they go.

Koko Marshall, as Cass, and Dave Coleman, as Tate, are charming together in a way that feels easy rather than rehearsed. There is irritation between them, affection underneath it, old history neither one quite knows what to do with, and a little cheek, as the British say. More importantly, they know how to listen to each other.

That sounds simple. It isn’t. Marshall and Coleman do not spend every scene trying to show us what their characters are feeling. The best work happens in the hesitation before a response, the look that hangs there a beat too long, or the way one sibling decides not to say the thing you know is sitting right there.

The Sposatos trust those moments, and they trust the audience enough not to overwork the mystery. You begin watching differently, looking into corners and wondering whether some small thing you almost ignored is about to matter. At one point, a license plate reads “APP GUY.” A small thing, but it made me smile. The movie does not stop to make sure I noticed it. Thank you.

Courtney Sposato also serves as director of photography, and her work gives the film much of its personality. There are moments in “Between Two Waves” that feel like opening a visual candy store and finding something unexpected sitting on the shelf. A frame catches you. A composition tilts your attention slightly. A familiar room suddenly feels wrong.

The film was made on a microbudget, but Sposato does not shoot it apologetically. She uses the house, the shadows, and what is missing from the frame as carefully as what is placed inside it. The occasional bursts of cinematic oddness begin to feel like a signature. I want more of that.

I also appreciated the sound work credited to Kalani Hubbard and Rich Patricia. I could not find a separate sound-design credit, but their work is smart and unobtrusive, shaping the mood without asking to be admired. A sound arrives from just far enough away to make the house feel larger and less knowable; silence lingers long enough to make you question whether you heard anything at all. Even after danger seems to have passed, the scene retains enough tension to keep you alert, listening for the next cue and wondering whether something is about to move. That is harder to pull off than simply making something jump out of the dark.

The supporting cast includes Mara Beier as Mara, Deana DiCosimo as Mary, Mary Looram as Mrs. Jarecki, and Mila Falkof as Young Cass. Their presence expands the story without crowding Cass and Tate.

The press materials describe a story about memory, trauma, love, and obligation. Fine. All of that is in there. But the Sposatos do not wave those ideas around. They let them come through in Cass and Tate’s bickering, their silences, their concern for each other, and the damage neither one can quite put into words.

“Between Two Waves” knows its way around a mystery. More importantly, it understands that the mystery only works because Cass and Tate do.

Cast & Crew Credit Block

Title: “Between Two Waves”

Written, Produced, and Directed by: Courtney and Mark Sposato

Director of Photography: Courtney Sposato

Sound Work: Kalani Hubbard and Rich Patricia

Cast:

Koko Marshall as Cass

Dave Coleman as Tate

Mara Beier as Mara

Deana DiCosimo as Mary

Mary Looram as Mrs. Jarecki