Alicia I love this movie so much

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

jackson-32415 Honestly, I thought this was very Entertaining. It had it's problems, but it was a fun ride.

KJ Proulx When a story focuses on a central character coming of age, I'm immediately hooked. With the addition of the backdrop of the film being set in the 90s, that only added to my excitement. Hot Summer Nights is one of A24's latest distributions and this studio has had quite the track record over the last few years. Personally, I believe this film will be one of their most polarizing releases of 2018, but I think it's a fantastic little indie gem. If you enjoy stories of an innocent youngster who gets swept up in something they think they can handle but really is about to ruin their life, then this film is absolutely something I would recommend to you. Here's why I highly recommend Hot Summer Nights, but also why that recommendation may come with an asterisk for some viewers.Following Daniel (Timothée Chalamet) as he spends his scorching hot summer in Cape Cod, he finds himself caught up in drug dealing, an unlikely relationship, and no way out of either. Both of those things find a relation to each other and spiral into an overall film that feels like a fun 90s flick, meshed with the harsh realities of underground drug deals. The premise of this film is what truly hooked me and although the storytelling itself is quite conventional, the execution kind of blew me away. From the performances to the surprises, Hot Summer Nights is a film that doesn't let up, even with its slow pacing.Timothée Chalamet continues to prove himself as an actor and this role is nothing short of superb. Even if this film isn't for you, I have a feeling you'd still praise him in this role. His performance, along with his chemistry with both Maika Monroe (who is also as fantastic as she always is) and Alex Roe is simply electric. From the subtleties he brings to this character, to the raw and unnerving outbursts in certain sequences, Chalamet creates one of the most memorable characters of the year, in my opinion. If you're able to enjoy a film by the core performance alone, then I think you'll love this film as I did. Outside of this character, however, is where I fear some viewers may become uninterested or bored.There are a lot of moments of characters just hanging out and spilling their life stories, but it works in the context of the film. There are some viewers who will absolutely find these conversations boring, but I was blown away by the performances, so that wasn't an issue for me. There are slow movies that I find boring, but when dialogue can drive it and make for an exciting, slow, yet dramatic experience, that's my kind of movie. So here's where I caution viewers. If you aren't willing to be swept up in a film that's filled with dialogue and not much excitement (for the majority at least), then I would look elsewhere, but personally, I think you'd be missing out.In the end, Hot Summer Nights is easily one of my favourite movies so far in 2018. The dramatic tension between characters completely sucked me in. Chalamet leaps off the screen and the very solid writing and direction by first-time feature filmmaker Elijah Bynum is something worth noting as well. I will definitely be on the lookout for his next outing. Hot Summer Nights is a true story for the most part, but you can tell that things have probably been tweaked to make for a better film. This film will probably go unnoticed by most, and that's a shame. I loved my experience with this movie and I can't wait to revisit it.

Lugo1989 In the flood of coming-of-age stories, Hot Summer Nights definitely stands out. It has a bit of everything; drama, romance, crime even and some light humour as well. The acting and directing are stellar but what especially deserves to be mentioned is the amazing soundtrack, great songs just follow each other from beginning until the end. There are some things that seem a bit over the top but this film still completely hooks you in and is very enjoyable. If you are a fan of coming-of-age stories and you wish to see something quite fresh, I would definitely recommend you go see it.

greg-goremykin Sure, it was derivative (like every story arc since Shakespeare has been), but I loved it because of that. It ripped off some shots from Good Fellas, a scene reminded me a lot of another from Boogie Nights, but at least this wasn't the kind of big blockbuster formulaic schlock that is starting to feel like they are pumped out off of an assembly line.I may have a soft spot because I spent my summers in a resort town populated by a mix of the very wealthy and the locals (of which I was neither) and this reminded me a lot of my own summer in 1991. Something about those places and the disparities can make you do some incredibly stupid things to make money, and because the relationships you have are almost doomed to be transitory they also have an intensity that this film really captured. I liked the mix of music on the soundtrack, not just from that *exact* era... teenagers/early 20 somethings at least back then seemed to know good music from previous decades that kids my daughters' ages absolutely don't seem to anymore. The scenes at the drive-in were bang-on (it made me really miss drive-ins), everything about the movie as a period-piece felt bang-on, and I'm the age to know.Another influence I saw that was intriguing was those old 50s teen cinematic cautionary tales (The Cool and the Crazy very much sprung to mind). Maybe that just adds another element of derivativeness (or would that be derivation?), but it was all put together nicely. And keeping in mind that this much of the tale is being told through the filter of a narrator who it's very much inferred knows of the ins and outs of the plot by rumour alone (and we all knew people, those near-mythic people. in our youth mostly by reputation alone like this), it explains any deficiencies in character development and how the story felt a little mythic itself.Anyways, rambling, I really, really enjoyed this, made me feel nostalgic, but while reminding me also that those times of our youth that we idealize as we get older had a lot of tragedy and heart-ache as well. I never review films here usually, but I think a lot of folks would skip over this, which I think would be a shame... any Gen X'ers/children of the late 80s I think would find this worth watching especially. But, then again, maybe this just led me down memory lane a bit because of some real commonalities with my own life at that same time (which is why I gave it a shot after reading the synopsis even after looking at how critics loathed this; I'm very glad I did and will probably even watch it again in a year or two).