Call Me By Your Name is a 2017 coming of age movie based on the novel of the same name written by André Aciman. It is directed by Luca Guadagnino and stars Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer and Esther Garrell.
Call Me By Your Name Movie Review
Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name is a film that can leave you swooning even minutes after the film has ended. It takes you on a journey with the characters, making one feel a part of the film while slowly getting invested in the character’s emotion and actions.
Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer’s chemistry is palpable throughout the movie. Their scenes which should be mundane, such as discussing music and swimming, felt tense with very subtle hints of flirting as their characters, Elio and Oliver try to subtly impress the other. Both the actors are masters of using body language to portray their character’s feelings alongside their casual and nonchalant facial expressions. Their connection and desire for each other felt genuine, as if we are seeing two human beings fall in love for each other, regardless of gender and labels like ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’. Also, hats off to Timothée Chalamet for portraying a very genuine version of Elio and for learning Italian, the guitar and piano for this role. His Oscar nomination for this role is absolutely well-deserved.
The pace of the movie is purposefully slow and meandering. Although this may not suit certain audiences who prefer films with sped up storyline development, the pacing of the story works wonders for its setting -in a lazy summer in 1983 somewhere in northern Italy. The movie crafts the development of a teenager as he explores his sexuality and allows the audience to feel the character’s emotion at every step of the way, making us thoroughly invested in his journey. We feel tense when Elio hints at his attraction to Oliver when they cycled to town. We feel impatient when Elio is impatiently checking his watch, waiting for midnight, and we feel utterly crushed when the news broke in the last phone call.
On top of all that, Call Me By Your Name is a picturesque film. The audience is treated to frames of beautiful sceneries of Italy every now and then such as the mountains of Bergamo and the town of Pandino, where several scenes are filmed. The use of sound and music is also an interesting part of the film. There was hardly any background music to guide the audience towards certain emotions. Instead, we get clear, raw sounds from the scene’s surroundings such as vehicle honks, bicycle bells, birds and wind noises which are usually drowned out. This allows the audience to be completely immersed in the scene as if we were part of the experience, while also making us feel every bit of emotion (including the butterflies) by ourselves.
All in all, Call Me By Your Name is a fantastic film that offers a great romantic experience to its audience. It presents a journey of self-discovery and emotional maturity that one can relate to in different ways. Although the sequel to the movie has been cancelled due to priorities, one can always read up on Elio and Oliver’s eventual reunion in the books.
Verdict
8.5/ 10
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