Adopted from André Aciman’s novel, ‘Call Me by Your Name’ is no doubt one of the best films of 2017 and will have your heart bursting with all types of emotions that you weren’t even aware you had. Of course, seeing as it’s directed by Luca Guadagnino, the inclusion of beautiful, flawless people experiencing the best of the bourgeois life to its full extent was no surprise. Guadagnino’s best-known titles include ‘A Bigger Splash’ and ‘I Am Love’, both films filled with passion and drama portrayed by … that’s right, you guessed it … beautiful people living their equally beautiful bourgeois life intensely. The most striking thing about Guadagnino’s work is that it leaves you swooning, despite of the lavish lifestyles that we as viewers vicariously experience through the screen, all his films have a romantic and emotional atmospheric quality to them. This is expressed through various ways, like the dialogue that feels so real, a cascade of lovely music and most importantly the pleasing, vibrant cinematic quality of the visuals and textures that shape his characters, from costume to the sun-kissed lighting.
Let’s set the scene: it’s sometime in the early 1980s, northern Italy, the narrative follows somewhat coltish Elio (Timothée Chalamet) who is living an idyllic life with his parents, as a relationship between him and 20-something American Oliver (Armie Hammer) forms. Oliver spends the summer as an assistant helping Elio’s professor father. (Michael Stuhlbarg) Those six weeks changed Elio’s life forever, which turned into 2 and a half hours that changed my life and made my heart swell. Their summer romance begins like any good old love story. At first Elio is annoyed by Oliver’s presence, even complains to his parents about Oliver’s very American sign-off “later.” However, he quickly becomes infatuated. This infatuation leads to many fleeting glances, angsty notes in Elio’s private notebook and an invitation to go for a swim which eventually gets very intimate and represents the stuff romance masterpieces are made of.
This film isn’t necessarily about Elio discovering his sexuality but rather owning his fluidity, as he is often the aggressor and pursuer of the relationship between him and Oliver but also a girlfriend. (Esther Garrel) Clearly, he knows himself and is unashamed about his feelings. In contrast to Oliver, though he seems confident with his sexuality as well, his initially rejection of Elio suggests otherwise. Perhaps he was trying to protect his position as an assistant when he tells him they haven’t done anything wrong yet, as Elio tries to kiss him.
‘Call Me by Your Name’ is less of a coming-of-age story, but one about the celebration of men who are liberated and don’t necessarily conform to a specific sexual identity but rather rejoice in fluidity. This is a story made for everyone, which is what’s so beautiful about it – that and its effortless style and performances that are so brilliant.
