Review: Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name is based on a book of the same name by André Aciman and was directed by Luca Guadagnino starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Set in 1983 in Northern Italy, it tells the story of 17-year old Elio Perlman who is on summer holiday with his family when they take in a doctorate student, Oliver who is working as an intern for his father.

Timothée Chalamet as Elio

The film starts out slow, and is shown through vignettes of the summer but Elio is the center of attention through it all. The film really picks up its pace when Elio tells Oliver the truth, Oliver is cautious about getting into a relationship with Elio though he later admits the first time he was giving him signs of his affection earlier in the summer. The film could have been a lot more uncomfortable in my opinion especially since films like Una with Ben Mendelsohn and Rooney Mara exists.

Something about the film is also very refreshing since it wasn't about a heterosexual relationship, and the way the filmmakers and the actors chose to tell the story was sensitive, and yet it was also unapologetic it also happens to be one of the quietest films I've seen in a while which is why in my Letterboxd review I mentioned how it reminded me of Death in Venice (aside from the Italy setting of course) and the film is also shot very well and you could tell that the filmmakers took advantage of the beautiful, lush scenery of Northern Italy.

Timothée Chalamet as Elio and Armie Hammer as Oliver 

Timothée Chalamet plays Elio way beyond his years and has terrific chemistry with Armie Hammer but if anyone in the cast deserves more praise than what they've gotten it has to be Michael Stulbharg for his role as Elio's father, I know Stulbharg for playing animated characters and effeminate men but his monologue to Elio towards the end is one of the best I've seen put on film, his performance has no trace of 'winning the scene' like so many actors tend to go for in prestige dramas.

Michael Stuhlbarg, Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer

Overall, Call Me By Your Name is a slow burn of a film but it never goes into melodramatic territory that other films of its kind often do and yet I am still conflicted because of the age difference between its two main characters.

3 1/2 stars.