Synopsis
A teen winds up in over his head while dealing drugs with a rebellious partner in Cape Cod, Mass.
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Cast
- Timothée ChalametDaniel Middleton
- Maika MonroeMcKayla Strawberry
- Alex RoeHunter Strawberry
- Maia MitchellAmy Calhoun
- Thomas JaneSergeant Calhoun
- Emory CohenDex
- William FichtnerShep
- Jack KesyPonytail
- Thomas Blake Jr.Taylor
- Kimberly BattistaVice Principle Finney
- 91
Consequence
Everything is dandy until it’s not and that’s what makes Hot Summer Nights such a stirring and vivid presentation. The stakes are real. Those stakes are what elevate the film from being strictly a chewy exercise in nostalgia. - 58
Entertainment Weekly
Bynum shoots it all in high pop-pastiche style, with a near-constant barrage of neon freeze frames, slow-pan party shots, and romantic montages set to an eclectic, decade-spanning soundtrack (Tarzan Boy, David Bowie, Roxette, Suicide). - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Visually atmospheric but tonally all over the place, Hot Summer Nights, a first feature by Elijah Bynum, has much to appreciate but ultimately possesses the sampler-platter vibe of a director’s demo reel. - 50
Movie Nation
A melodramatic and ham-fisted mashup of beachside-summer-I-came-of-age romance and birth-of-a-weed-dealer drama. - 50
Rolling Stone
The result is chaotic, but never lacking in energy – and the cast is up for anything. - 42
IndieWire
Elijah Bynum’s debut embracing every last cliche it can find in a perverse attempt to forge its own identity. It’s a noble effort that comes up empty. Instead of something original, we’re left with a sweaty pastiche that shares its protagonist’s desire to be all things to all people, only to wind up losing any sense of itself along the way. - 40
Village Voice
Elijah Bynum’s messy debut film is only bearable thanks to Chalamet’s charisma. - 30
TheWrap
The characters, the dumb dialogue, and the story mechanics are the biggest problems with “Hot Summer Nights,” which never convinces, while it uses an annoying, legend-building voiceover narration from an unseen local to keep hawking the notion that we’re seeing life-changing, mythic events.