It's a simplistic way to describe the approach director/writer Elijah Bynum used in making "Hot Summer Nights" but in this case it's appropriate. The first-time director presents a world where nothing is what it appears to be. Bynum's begging the viewer not to judge anything based on first impressions.
At first glance, "Hot Summer Nights" is the story of the socially awkward Daniel Middleton (Timothee Chalamet), who in 1991 is sent away for the summer before college to his aunt on Cape Cod. What looks to be a boring three months changes when Daniel becomes friends with Hunter Strawberry (Alex Roe), the town's bad boy. At the same time, Daniel finds a forbidden love with Hunter's sister, McKayla (Maika Monroe), considered the most desirable girl in town.
It's the second glance that makes "Hot Summer Nights" interesting.
Daniel becomes a drug dealer with Hunter, and his knack for business soon makes the pair the biggest marijuana suppliers on Cape Cod. Hunter enjoys the success and money, but begins to worry Daniel has become too obsessed with the drug world, and that could lead to a disastrous end. Hunter is concerned his bad boy act has softened since meeting Amy (Maia Mitchell), the town good girl who has won over his heart. Daniel becomes so involved with his new business he fails to notice McKayla's life is not as magical as the locals want to believe.
All these counter versions of the key players work because Bynum has put together an extremely talented cast of young actors. Chalamet (who made "Hot Summer Nights" before his Oscar-nominated efforts in "Call Me by Your Name") effortlessly goes from a bored teen trying to survive being sent away from home to what appears to be a dull community into a self-assured instigator whose vice is his lack of self-control, the one vice a person in his line of work can't afford to have.
His transformation under Bynum's direction is slow, determined and steeped in realism. This makes him the perfect reflection of Roe's work as Hunter, who starts out full of confidence but slowly begins to show the cracks in his emotional armor. Roe does this by channeling James Dean to create a performance that smolders with such intensity the movie should come with a fire hazard warning and yet has an underbelly of chilled tenderness.
The strong acting is a group effort, as both Monroe and Mitchell create characters who are strong enough _ while still being vulnerable _ to keep all the storylines equally balanced. They help round out the strong circle of performers who give great life to Bynum's words.
Where the film begins to have problems is when Bynum is not dealing with one of his major players. He has set the story in the '90s but doesn't do a good job of creating a sense of that world except for a few selections for the soundtrack.
The other stumble Bynum makes is his decision to use an approaching hurricane as the personification of the turmoil that is going on with the main players. Such a tactic can only work if the process is completely enveloped in the use of the storm. And, this would have been a great place for one last major reminder of how things aren't always what they appear to be if the director had used the storm better. Sadly, it ends up being more of a distraction than an attraction.
"Hot Summer Nights" has its problems, but it also has four major strengths in the young cast. Bynum's complete grasp of how complicated he wanted his players to be and the ability to create the emotional extremes for each is enough to distract from the large issues where the director/writer wasn't as confident or complete.
