I was dreading writing anything about “The First Wave” because, truth be told, it’s such a goddamn depressing movie. The documentary, which is in now in theatres and has an 87 on Metacritic, was passed on by Sundance and Toronto because the programmers felt it was too gloomy to be shown during a pandemic.
Directed by Matthew Heineman, this is as exclusive an access of the first wave of COVID-19 as we’re going to get. Right as the pandemic was starting in March, Heineman went inside one of New York’s hardest hit hospital systems and stayed there, PPE suit on, for the first four terrifying months of the pandemic.
Inside the hospital, Heineman shot in rotating two-person crews: the director and one cameraperson suited up with the same PPE used by the doctors and nurses at the hospital. The focus was on two essential workers separated from their families and fighting the virus: NYPD cop Ahmed Ellis, and nurse Brussels Jabon, who had just given birth to a baby, still being cared for in a natal ward. One survived, the other didn’t.
It all amounts to a rather graphic depiction of the pandemic. One we’ve rarely seen on the news, with death looming in every hall of the hospital. It’s not just the victims of the virus the film focuses on, but also the vitally important and overworked physicians/nurses. But what is the value of watching this film when the pandemic isn’t even over yet? We still haven’t even had the time to sit back, assess and wonder what the hell happened these last 20 months.
The doc finally premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival in October. NEON picked it up and now it’s being campaigned for the Best Documentary category. It will be made available to stream on Nat Geo next Friday.