For a movie called Hot Summer Nights, nobody seems all that hot. And I'm not talking about physical attractiveness- I'm talking about an inescapable feeling of sweltering humidity, creating the kind of air that feels sticky and gross in the middle of a July heatwave. In theory, this is a film that should have a palpable sense of atmosphere, engulfing you in its sweaty, carefree world. Hell, Thomas Jane's gruff Officer Calhoun even delivers a monologue about the dog days of summer at one point in the movie, listing off how the world makes you feel during those lazy months. Elijah Bynum's directorial debut promises a sensory experience, but half the time it feels like a film that was shot in the middle of October. Now, this is a very small complaint in the grand scheme of things, one tiny piece of a much bigger puzzle. But it's just further proof of the inconsistency of this entire endeavor, a film that moves in spurts without ever fulfilling its potential as a low-key charmer.
Many viewers will be along for the ride because of Timothée Chalamet, which is understandable. After all, the young Call Me By Your Name star assembled a fervent army of fans last year during his march to an Oscar nomination, and he seems destined for a long and successful career in Hollywood. But if anyone's holding a Chalamet retrospective in 2060, I doubt Hot Summer Nights will be a part of it. The actor stars as Daniel, a teenager grieving after the loss of his beloved father. Daniel's mother sends him to Cape Cod for the summer, where he'll stay with his aunt. Cape Cod is the kind of town that attracts wealthy tourists, known as Summer Birds to the locals. But Daniel is neither a rich kid nor a townie, so he's stuck in limbo.
After helping uber-cool Hunter (Alex Roe) with a favor, Daniel's life changes with his first bong rip. It's a spiritual experience, one that both literally and figuratively knocks him on his ass. Hunter is the drug dealer in Cape Cod, selling dime bags to teenagers and more expensive deals to the carefree tourists. Entranced by the power of pot, Daniel suddenly wants a piece of the action. The town dealer agrees, taking young Danny under his wing.
While Hunter is content to make a little slice of profit for as long as possible, Daniel is thinking big. He cuts a deal with magnetic hitman Dex (Emory Cohen) to move pounds of product, earning the dynamic duo more money than they know what to do with. At the same time, Daniel falls in love with McKayla (Maika Monroe), Hunter's estranged sister and the most attractive girl in town. But here's the catch- she doesn't know about Daniel's business arrangement. Of course, things get messy from here.
Hot Summer Nights has about a half dozen interesting ideas, but this is a debut film if I've ever seen one. Like all young filmmakers, it's clear that writer/director Bynum has been inspired by the work of the great directors of the past and present. For large sections of the film, Bynum employs a faux Scorsese style, injecting this rise-and-fall story with freeze frames, needle drops, and omnipresent narration to liven things up. It's a blatant rip-off of Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, even using some of the same comedic techniques to generate grim humor. It frustrated me, mostly because it feels so obvious.
Regardless of how grating it can be at times, the need for a clear and recognizable approach to this material is understandable in the context of a debut project. What's inexplicable is the film's inability to commit to a style and tone, dipping its toes into other moods and genres without keeping its focus on the bigger picture. After following the Scorsese playbook to a T for the first half, Bynum abandons it completely, tossing in a dash of the Coen Brothers' dry humor (Emory Cohen's hitman is ripped straight out of Fargo) before going all in for a serious and grim finale. But instead of keeping things fresh, it just makes the whole affair feel unbelievably scattered, unable to keep any level of consistency. Even the narrator disappears for a while, without any explanation or rationale.
This is the fundamental problem with Hot Summer Nights- it's attempting to do a lot of "cool" things without understanding the effects of its hip style. Let's circle back to the narration for a second. Bynum frames the story around a young Cape Cod kid, who recites Daniel's journey like it's the stuff of urban legends. There's a real mythology to the town, a sense of pseudo-comedic history that goes back decades. But through this fascination with local myth-making, Bynum sacrifices any real depth to the characters or the story. In Scorsese movies, narration is used as a device to enter the minds of the subjects, allowing them to project their thoughts and feelings to the viewer. Here, it's used to create the sense that Daniel and Hunter formed the basis of Cape Cod stories for decades to come. But why does that matter?
As a result, Daniel remains something of an enigma throughout, lacking any distinct personality traits or emotional depth beyond his business savvy. Sure, he undergoes something of a journey from timid teen to slick hustler, but once again, the question of "why" is missing from the equation. While Chalamet is a brilliant actor, even he can only do so much with a thin character. The film implicitly makes the argument that Daniel turns to drug dealing because of his emotional torment, only to avoid investigating that any further. Instead, Bynum shifts the focus to the relationship between Hunter and McKayla, pressing into the town dealer's past and examining his future. But after such a frenetic start, all of the attempts at grounded emotional realism feel disingenuous.
Hot Summer Nights certainly looks pretty, receiving a boost from the sun baked cinematography of Javier Julia. It's also obvious that Bynum is a filmmaker with raw talent behind the camera, as the numerous tracking shots and creative flair ensure that the film is never boring. But if Bynum has mastered the tricks of the trade, he has yet to use them in a way that makes functional narrative sense. Even as it bounces off the walls with relentless energy, Hot Summer Nights is a brutal example of style over substance, lacking strong characters or thematic poignancy to go along with its flashy techniques.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (4.6/10)
Images: A24/IMDb
Many viewers will be along for the ride because of Timothée Chalamet, which is understandable. After all, the young Call Me By Your Name star assembled a fervent army of fans last year during his march to an Oscar nomination, and he seems destined for a long and successful career in Hollywood. But if anyone's holding a Chalamet retrospective in 2060, I doubt Hot Summer Nights will be a part of it. The actor stars as Daniel, a teenager grieving after the loss of his beloved father. Daniel's mother sends him to Cape Cod for the summer, where he'll stay with his aunt. Cape Cod is the kind of town that attracts wealthy tourists, known as Summer Birds to the locals. But Daniel is neither a rich kid nor a townie, so he's stuck in limbo.
After helping uber-cool Hunter (Alex Roe) with a favor, Daniel's life changes with his first bong rip. It's a spiritual experience, one that both literally and figuratively knocks him on his ass. Hunter is the drug dealer in Cape Cod, selling dime bags to teenagers and more expensive deals to the carefree tourists. Entranced by the power of pot, Daniel suddenly wants a piece of the action. The town dealer agrees, taking young Danny under his wing.
While Hunter is content to make a little slice of profit for as long as possible, Daniel is thinking big. He cuts a deal with magnetic hitman Dex (Emory Cohen) to move pounds of product, earning the dynamic duo more money than they know what to do with. At the same time, Daniel falls in love with McKayla (Maika Monroe), Hunter's estranged sister and the most attractive girl in town. But here's the catch- she doesn't know about Daniel's business arrangement. Of course, things get messy from here.
Hot Summer Nights has about a half dozen interesting ideas, but this is a debut film if I've ever seen one. Like all young filmmakers, it's clear that writer/director Bynum has been inspired by the work of the great directors of the past and present. For large sections of the film, Bynum employs a faux Scorsese style, injecting this rise-and-fall story with freeze frames, needle drops, and omnipresent narration to liven things up. It's a blatant rip-off of Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, even using some of the same comedic techniques to generate grim humor. It frustrated me, mostly because it feels so obvious.
Regardless of how grating it can be at times, the need for a clear and recognizable approach to this material is understandable in the context of a debut project. What's inexplicable is the film's inability to commit to a style and tone, dipping its toes into other moods and genres without keeping its focus on the bigger picture. After following the Scorsese playbook to a T for the first half, Bynum abandons it completely, tossing in a dash of the Coen Brothers' dry humor (Emory Cohen's hitman is ripped straight out of Fargo) before going all in for a serious and grim finale. But instead of keeping things fresh, it just makes the whole affair feel unbelievably scattered, unable to keep any level of consistency. Even the narrator disappears for a while, without any explanation or rationale.
This is the fundamental problem with Hot Summer Nights- it's attempting to do a lot of "cool" things without understanding the effects of its hip style. Let's circle back to the narration for a second. Bynum frames the story around a young Cape Cod kid, who recites Daniel's journey like it's the stuff of urban legends. There's a real mythology to the town, a sense of pseudo-comedic history that goes back decades. But through this fascination with local myth-making, Bynum sacrifices any real depth to the characters or the story. In Scorsese movies, narration is used as a device to enter the minds of the subjects, allowing them to project their thoughts and feelings to the viewer. Here, it's used to create the sense that Daniel and Hunter formed the basis of Cape Cod stories for decades to come. But why does that matter?
As a result, Daniel remains something of an enigma throughout, lacking any distinct personality traits or emotional depth beyond his business savvy. Sure, he undergoes something of a journey from timid teen to slick hustler, but once again, the question of "why" is missing from the equation. While Chalamet is a brilliant actor, even he can only do so much with a thin character. The film implicitly makes the argument that Daniel turns to drug dealing because of his emotional torment, only to avoid investigating that any further. Instead, Bynum shifts the focus to the relationship between Hunter and McKayla, pressing into the town dealer's past and examining his future. But after such a frenetic start, all of the attempts at grounded emotional realism feel disingenuous.
Hot Summer Nights certainly looks pretty, receiving a boost from the sun baked cinematography of Javier Julia. It's also obvious that Bynum is a filmmaker with raw talent behind the camera, as the numerous tracking shots and creative flair ensure that the film is never boring. But if Bynum has mastered the tricks of the trade, he has yet to use them in a way that makes functional narrative sense. Even as it bounces off the walls with relentless energy, Hot Summer Nights is a brutal example of style over substance, lacking strong characters or thematic poignancy to go along with its flashy techniques.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (4.6/10)
Images: A24/IMDb
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