What seems at first glance to be a standard teen-in-peril Lifetime potboiler is elevated by a knockout cast, a complex plot spanning multiple timelines, and a nuanced exploration of some pretty heavy themes. The Freeform "Cruel Summer" limited series (available on Hulu) tells the story of what happens to a group of suburban teenagers in the mid-1990s when a local girl is kidnapped and then later claims a classmate knew where she was being held but chose not to alert authorities. That crazy, convoluted sentence doesn't do the series justice. This is a layered look at teen girl angst and jealousy, media bloodlust, sexual predation, post-traumatic stress, and dark family secrets. There's a whole lot going on here. As the narrative slowly peels back the mystery of what happened to who and why, audience perceptions of the characters are constantly shifting. More than once, a hero is revealed to have a mean streak, while the person who seems to be the bad guy shows an unexpectedly benevolent side.
The true genius of the show, however, is its structure. "Cruel Summer" tells its story across three years. Each episode covers the same calendar date, but in different time periods. Clever editing allows for some pretty powerful dramatic contrasts. An upscale neighborhood July 4 party, a birthday celebration, a family outing, all have very different vibes and subtexts when we see them take place during each of the three time periods: before the girl went missing, right after she was rescued, and during a very ugly year when girl she claimed didn't rescue her is now suing for defamation. It's surprisingly easily to keep all of this straight - incredibly, the time jumps sometimes happen within in a single scene in a single location - thanks to smart cinematography and the physical appearance of the two leads. Indeed, while the cast is uniformly strong, it's the two powerhouse performances of Olivia Holt and Chiara Aurelia that really kick things into high gear. Their work is the sort of thing that would undoubtedly get a lot more buzz had this run on a higher-profile platform like HBO or Netflix.
But here's the problem. This story - as rich and complex as it may be - simply cannot sustain itself across ten 45-minute episodes. This is, of course, not an uncommon complaint. You've probably experienced similar frustration watching one of these limited series that seem to have an episode-count mandate whether the story warrants it or not. And so "Cruel Summer" starts with a bang for those first few episodes, droops into a mushy middle run of episodes where nothing really happens (it can't start solving all of the mysteries just yet, you see, it's still too soon), and then suddenly makes a mad dash for a satisfying conclusion in the last two episodes. Had this been converted into a leaner set of five or six episodes, it would have been much more engaging and effective.
(Case in point: we submit to you Netflix's "Fear Street" a similarly complex story - albeit one that is more straight horror than thriller - told across different timelines, but clocking in at only six hours it feels much leaner and more focused. It may not be as culturally relevant as "Cruel Summer," but it's ultimately more satisfying.)
"Cruel Summer" also sort of falls into the trap of cramming as many final act plot twists and reversals as possible. Those turns can be entertaining, but too often they have the potential to undermine everything that came before. There's a whopper of a twist here in the final few moments that we won't spoil, but the giddy visceral "OMG!" kick it provides sort of sours once you realize how it sort of undercuts the rest of the story. It's tricky to lead an audience on a satisfying journey with so many characters - for ten episodes, remember - only to pull the rug out at the very end just because pulling the rug out is what these shows do.
"Cruel Summer" trailer
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