
WASTEMAN
Starring: David Jonsson, Tom Blyth, Alex Hassell, Corin Silva, and Paul Hilton
Director: Cal McMau

AMARÚ
We all (should) know that David Jonsson is on the precipice of greatness, but it’s Tom Blyth to whom I owe an apology. I wasn’t really familiar with your game, sir. Wasteman is a two-man tour-de-force wrapped in director Cal McMau’s visceral encapsulation of the hellish conditions of prisons everywhere. His hard-hitting mix of close-quarter camera work and found-footage prisoner videos sets the foundation for Jonsson to showcase a vulnerability not many actors can manage while Blyth hits a level of menace and intensity I didn’t know he could reach. This one hits hard, and it will leave you in a breathless sweat from start to finish.

NICK
To me, the best on-screen depiction of prison has been HBO'S Oz. So it's a huge compliment to say that's what Wasteman reminded me of. I've been waxing poetic about David Jonsson for some time, but this film is more than just a great showing from him. In fact, Tom Blyth is the headline here, as he comes out of nowhere with a powerhouse performance. A gritty, dirty film that never glorifies prison nor shy away from its issues, Wasteman may not bring anything new to the table, but when a story is told and performed as well as this, it doesn’t always need to.
This film was reviewed by Nick and Amarú as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
