Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Is it better to speak or die? This is the question on the mind of Luca Guadagnino's 2017 breakout hit Call Me By Your Name. Chronicling the blossoming relationship between two young men named Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer) over the course of Oliver's stay with the Perlman family in their grand home in rural Northern Italy one summer, Call Me By Your Name immediately found an audience with its seductive and moody characters and screenplay. The overdetermined nature of the emotions within the film created a deep emotional connection with multiple audiences which still, despite the beauty of the film, makes it one of the most haunting films of the past decade.
From the joy to the pain, the emotional power of Call Me By Your Name lies in its characters. Unlike so many other romances, Elio and Oliver are not flawless characters with an easy love story. Way past the traditional cliched conflicts of gay romances in cinema, Elio and Oliver are two characters who are trying to find their place in the world and how to handle themselves both in and out of relationships. The flirting is awkward, the emotions are complex, and communication flawed offering a realistic reflection of young romance not concerned with giving a fairy tale interpretation of love. The film plays to the immaturity of Elio and gives the time needed to naturally build the chemistry and relationship between him and Oliver spending the majority of the runtime in the buildup to the relationship rather on the relationship itself.
These characters come truly alive due to the effective relationship between the screenplay and the acting. The novel the film is based on by André Aciman is one that naturally is hard to adapt. So many of the emotions and developments take place within the mind of Elio trying to expose the complex and confusing emotions he faces as a young man exploring his own sexuality and first experiencing true love. On film, it is impossible to hear the constant inner dialogue of a character as you can in book form meaning that the film had to be smart and effective when it came to expressing these deeper emotions which simply wouldn't have worked had it not been for the Academy Award Winning screenplay by James Ivory and the performances from Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Not only does the film consistently make the most out of visual storytelling such as the brilliant subtle showcase of Elio wearing his Star of David necklace after discussing his relationship with religion with Oliver and the constant fixation on Elio's watch as he counts down the hours before a midnight meeting with Oliver, but the performances are incredibly layered and subtle.
For many, Call Me By Your Name served as their introduction to Timothée Chalamet. Where now after seeing the actor's young career explode with diverse yet impressive roles in countless films it might not come as a huge surprise, back in 2017 it is easy to see why this performance caught the world by storm. Chalamet masterfully transforms himself into the moody and emotional Elio who is constantly in his head confused and overwhelmed by his emotions and how he shows them. Every tiny mannerism from Chalamet, Hammer, and Michael Stuhlbarg feels calculated and exact. Because of this incredible control and craft of both screenplay and acting, the relationships feel real and authentic. Not just does the relationship between Elio and Oliver feel hauntingly real but the relationships between each character and Elio's father played by Michael Stuhlbarg adds another level of depth and purpose to the film. From the friendship between Oliver and him to him trying to be there for his son without being pushy or overbearing, so many look at his final monologue as the pivotal moment for his character yet on every rewatch the actual impact he has on the overall plot becomes more and more clear.
These characters come truly alive due to the effective relationship between the screenplay and the acting. The novel the film is based on by André Aciman is one that naturally is hard to adapt. So many of the emotions and developments take place within the mind of Elio trying to expose the complex and confusing emotions he faces as a young man exploring his own sexuality and first experiencing true love. On film, it is impossible to hear the constant inner dialogue of a character as you can in book form meaning that the film had to be smart and effective when it came to expressing these deeper emotions which simply wouldn't have worked had it not been for the Academy Award Winning screenplay by James Ivory and the performances from Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Not only does the film consistently make the most out of visual storytelling such as the brilliant subtle showcase of Elio wearing his Star of David necklace after discussing his relationship with religion with Oliver and the constant fixation on Elio's watch as he counts down the hours before a midnight meeting with Oliver, but the performances are incredibly layered and subtle.
For many, Call Me By Your Name served as their introduction to Timothée Chalamet. Where now after seeing the actor's young career explode with diverse yet impressive roles in countless films it might not come as a huge surprise, back in 2017 it is easy to see why this performance caught the world by storm. Chalamet masterfully transforms himself into the moody and emotional Elio who is constantly in his head confused and overwhelmed by his emotions and how he shows them. Every tiny mannerism from Chalamet, Hammer, and Michael Stuhlbarg feels calculated and exact. Because of this incredible control and craft of both screenplay and acting, the relationships feel real and authentic. Not just does the relationship between Elio and Oliver feel hauntingly real but the relationships between each character and Elio's father played by Michael Stuhlbarg adds another level of depth and purpose to the film. From the friendship between Oliver and him to him trying to be there for his son without being pushy or overbearing, so many look at his final monologue as the pivotal moment for his character yet on every rewatch the actual impact he has on the overall plot becomes more and more clear.
All these elements come together to create a story that is beautiful yet haunting. The love that Elio and Oliver share is doomed from the beginning, at the end of the summer Oliver will leave Italy to go home to America. No matter how real their love might become, or how painful it will inevitably be to leave, this is an indisputable fact that haunts the film like a ghost. It is an inevitable pain set up from the start of the film that makes every moment of joy have a scarring aftertaste to it. The pain experienced at the end of the film, both by the characters and audience, raises the question of if the pain was worth it tying into the question asked throughout the film, is it better to speak or die? Is it better to die without engaging with your cursed desires that will cause an incredible amount of pleasure and pain, or is it better to speak and accept both? The film doesn't claim to answer this question with a neat and easy answer as there simply isn't one. The characters undoubtedly have their opinions as poetically explored in scenes such as the final monologue from Michael Stuhlbarg but none of that acceptance and philosophy on the importance of pain gets rid of the pain itself. To love is to feel pain at some point and that is beautiful and intriguingly explored in Call Me By Your Name.
Where the performances allow the actors to fully transform themselves into their characters, the film does the same transformation when it comes to the setting of the film. The movie teleports the audience from wherever they sit watching the movie to 1980's Northern Italy. From the gorgeous production design to the cinematography capturing the heat of the summer, Call Me By Your Name has one of the most effective atmospheres and environments in recent memory. Not only is the town and surrounding nature brought alive but the heat of the summer mixed with the bare skin often on display gives the film an undeniable physicality and sexiness that perfectly channels the emotions of desire. Not only visually is the score near poetry at times but the score and soundtrack also do wonders. The soundtrack made up of a mixture of classic piano and Italian pop gives the film its own identity and clearly was used as its own form of storytelling with the songs being personally selected by Luca Guadagnino himself. The film also contains 3 songs from artist Sufjan Stevens all of which are poetic and touching in their own way. They help provide a depth and breath of emotion to multiple sequences and are used nearly flawlessly within the film.
Call Me By Your Name is a film that captures a human truth in a way like no others. For those able to relate to the inner turmoil of Elio and the confused and painful desire that he goes through, this movie will connect on a deeper level than nearly any other. The screenplay, acting, visuals, soundtrack, and emotion are all masterful. There is not a single flaw to be found within the film or one piece that feels like it could have been polished deeper. Every rewatch of the film not only cements what is to be loved about the film but gives new reasons and revelations to love it even deeper. Call Me By Your Name is undoubtedly a personal and honest look at love and the connection it has to pain but the conversation is so elegantly handled that it never loses focus trying to understand the complexity of the conversation. Instead, the film simply displays a genuine love and allows the consequences to follow. It is brutal yet honest and remains one of the true masterpieces of modern cinema.
Where the performances allow the actors to fully transform themselves into their characters, the film does the same transformation when it comes to the setting of the film. The movie teleports the audience from wherever they sit watching the movie to 1980's Northern Italy. From the gorgeous production design to the cinematography capturing the heat of the summer, Call Me By Your Name has one of the most effective atmospheres and environments in recent memory. Not only is the town and surrounding nature brought alive but the heat of the summer mixed with the bare skin often on display gives the film an undeniable physicality and sexiness that perfectly channels the emotions of desire. Not only visually is the score near poetry at times but the score and soundtrack also do wonders. The soundtrack made up of a mixture of classic piano and Italian pop gives the film its own identity and clearly was used as its own form of storytelling with the songs being personally selected by Luca Guadagnino himself. The film also contains 3 songs from artist Sufjan Stevens all of which are poetic and touching in their own way. They help provide a depth and breath of emotion to multiple sequences and are used nearly flawlessly within the film.
Call Me By Your Name is a film that captures a human truth in a way like no others. For those able to relate to the inner turmoil of Elio and the confused and painful desire that he goes through, this movie will connect on a deeper level than nearly any other. The screenplay, acting, visuals, soundtrack, and emotion are all masterful. There is not a single flaw to be found within the film or one piece that feels like it could have been polished deeper. Every rewatch of the film not only cements what is to be loved about the film but gives new reasons and revelations to love it even deeper. Call Me By Your Name is undoubtedly a personal and honest look at love and the connection it has to pain but the conversation is so elegantly handled that it never loses focus trying to understand the complexity of the conversation. Instead, the film simply displays a genuine love and allows the consequences to follow. It is brutal yet honest and remains one of the true masterpieces of modern cinema.