Hot Summer Nights

I was lucky enough to catch this film at SXSW this year, and was blown away by every aspect of it. It's perhaps one of the most stylish and confident directorial debuts I've ever seen- director Elijah Bynum and his collaborators are firing on all cylinders here with beautiful cinematography, a knockout script that isn't afraid to slow down for thoughtful, character-driven moments, and stellar acting across the board.

Timothee Chalamet is the obvious standout here, and his transition from innocence to intimidating criminality is believable and chilling. Bynum has a sense for the cinematic "moment"- two characters sharing a lollipop in a convenience store in an extreme close-up, for example- that brings to mind the works of some of cinema's greatest directors. In conjunction with all this is a dynamite soundtrack and a unique sense of style that I look forward to seeing more of in Bynum's future work.