Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Set in an idyllic Italian village in 1983, the film centres around seventeen-year-old Elio (Timothee Chalamet) struggling to find his identity and shifting into adulthood; from dealing with having sex for the first time, to re-establishing his pride in his Jewish heritage. The catalyst for these, equally beautiful and often emotionally painful, experiences is strapping all-American Oliver (Armie Hammer), who joins Elio’s father as a research assistant for the summer.

Infused with the Italian heat, Elio and Oliver’s relationship develops over the weeks. Oliver’s initial impression of an arrogant and confident ladies’ man subtly changes as time progresses and Elio challenges him. At first it seems that Oliver holds all the power in the relationship but his vulnerability is delicately revealed towards the end of the film. Whereas Elio’s vulnerability is apparent from the start, both physically and emotionally, we very much see things from his point of view: an adolescent dealing with desire, possibly confined by societal and cultural ideals, none of which are explicitly depicted in the film, instead running as an undercurrent throughout – pop music constantly reminding us of the era of the film and hinting at the knowledge of the AIDS epidemic.

The film interlaces cultural references, classical music, literature and art, which are often interpreted as metaphors for the blossoming relationship between Oliver and Elio. At one point, explicitly: Elio’s mother reads a traditional folktale to him and his father, Elio physically lying in his mother and father’s arms suggesting his childlike qualities and also his closeness to his parents, stating that in the story a prince could not tell a princess of his love for her, asking "is it better to speak or to die?”. As he passes the story on to Oliver, Elio uses it to reveal his true feelings for him.

Cultured and intelligent characters drive the narrative and make the developing relationship all the more interesting. We see as Oliver, along with Elio’s father, reviews slides of beautiful Renaissance sculptures of the male form in all its glory – both men acknowledging the sensual nature of the artwork. It sounds cliché but it works within the world we are presented. This being a world where the characters are surrounded by beautiful landscapes that evoke a dreamlike quality to the six weeks of summer. This is juxtaposed with the harsh snowy winter towards the end of the film, as if the dream is over.

The central performance from Chalamet is what really makes this film, he is definitely the actor of the moment, also starring in the popular Lady Bird although in a much smaller role. Chalamet depicts a precocious yet vulnerable soul who we want to see triumph. Kudos should also go to the actor for performing a bizarre and memorable scene featuring a peach. Hammer is suitably American in the role of Oliver but is not as likeable as he is perhaps supposed to be.

There has been lots of discussion surrounding this film, firstly, due to the issue of statutory rape, as Elio is 17 and Oliver is 24. However, the film never condones this behaviour as such and this is an element which makes the relationship more fascinating and so complex. Many have also criticised the differing ways the heterosexual and homosexual sex scenes have been shot, the latter panning to a window view of trees instead of showing the intercourse. Perhaps this is to allow the viewer to imagine more graphically than a 15 certification would allow, maybe it is to symbolise the depth of the moment.  

Whatever criticisms there may be, this is undoubtedly a beautiful love story with poetic nuances throughout, alongside sizzling sexual tension which builds to a well-crafted finale.