Toronto International Film Festival 2025: Wasteman
It’s a situation many of us know all too well, or can at least sympathise with: being caught in the middle of a dispute you would give anything to stay out of. In Taylor’s (BAFTA Rising Star Award winner David Jonsson) case, his unwitting entanglement in such a crossfire could prove fatal.
For the longest time, he would spend his days in prison cutting hair for gang members, who in turn supply him with drugs. He has witnessed their ruthlessness towards anyone they think crossed them. The arrival of Taylor’s new cellmate, Dee (Tom Blyth), comes with prospects of friendship, but when it threatens the kingpin’s monopoly on controlling contraband, Taylor finds himself directly in the line of fire.
Wasteman is executed with such singular confidence and steady hand that it hardly feels like a first feature. Unfolding as a slow burn, director Cal McMau perfectly stacks dramatic beats, bonded with concrete characterisation, that allow the film to organically develop into a white-knuckle thriller. Tight blocking and shot sizes help emphasise the claustrophobic nature of the environment, leaving little room to breathe. The constant grind of violence that shapes life in prison is often displayed via cellphone footage, a twofold creative decision that primarily allows the audience to feel the brutality rather than seeing every detail of it (shaky camera movements smartly keeping any artifice of elaborate stuntwork out of view). On the other hand, the fact that the inmates are so eager to document their own offences (and thereby risk prolonging their sentences) also speaks to a curious craving for self-expression within a place designed to leave little room for autonomy.
Jonsson anchors the viewer’s emotional engagement through his heartfelt portrayal of a lost soul, jolted out of his dazed existence by the immediate danger he finds himself in. Every scene with Blyth feels like a dance around a fire; the actor’s energy is both captivating and utterly unpredictable. Together, the British breakout talents command the screen in a riveting masterclass of their craft, where one hardly dares to blink.
In an immersive journey, Wasteman escalates from gritty prison drama to pulse-pounding suspense, powered by its remarkable co-leads firing on all cylinders. McMau proves that a movie doesn’t need to tell an entirely new story to be unforgettable – its tense atmosphere and driven execution make every moment gripping.
Selina Sondermann
Wasteman does not have a release date yet.
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