Oscars 2018: Review- Call Me By Your Name



It came out back in October and I missed it but having had the chance to see it about a month ago, I've wanted to talk about it here ever since. Finally, a big enough gap in the schedule has appeared and with it being a Best Picture contender (as well as Best Actor, Best Song and Best Adapted Screenplay), I'm just going to gush about this beautiful movie. The story is of a seventeen year old boy (Elio) living in Italy whose family invite an American student in his twenties (Oliver) to stay and study Classical architecture with them. Over this long, sumptuous summer, the two grow closer and begin to fall in love, as Elio slowly and internally deals with who he is and how his sexuality defines him. The story isn't exactly what sells this film and in fact, it's worth seeing a second time so you can focus on things that aren't the plot but it's a lovely story that acts as an entry point to completely envelop you.

Every performance in this film is perfect and it's why I'm so angry that only one actor got a nomination. To be fair, when I praise the acting, I'm mainly talking about a central trio, although Amira Casar and Esther Garrel do great work as the mother and girlfriend respectively. Playing the father, there is Michael Stuhlbarg who is incredible. Personally, I loved him more in the most recent series of Fargo but that's because I just love that show, he's incredible here too. There is one speech in particular at the end which is an absolute tear jerker and his delivery sells it completely. Being almost completely overlook in the whole awards season buzz is poor Armie Hammer who plays Oliver with a real tenderness. Because the film is from Elio's point of view, much of Oliver is cryptic and unknowable to start with but Hammer opens him up gradually and just like Elio, we fall in love with him. Speaking of, I would be remiss if I went any longer without talking about Timothee Chalamet who plays Elio. He is an absolute revelation from start to finish. At no point in the film did I think he was acting, I just saw a character existing fully in a world that I was fully convinced of. This performance goes beyond performing, he is simply existing in this role, making it come alive.

At the time of writing, I've seen the film twice and what always stands out to me is the pure sensuousness of the film. Usually, this is a word that gets thrown around in relation to sex and sexuality and while I'll get to that, primarily I'm on about the world that Guadagnino creates. Every landscape looks lush, every noise sounds sensational and every taste is tangible. What this means is that you are no longer watching a film, you're utterly enveloped in the Italy of the 80s and the two plus hours simply flies by. Equally though, the sexuality of the film is handled incredibly well. Despite what my flatmates would have you believe, I'm not gay (big love guys) but because of how well everything on screen is handled, I found myself immersed in their embracing of sexuality (phrased clumsily because "sex scene" would be an inaccurate description). I know it sounds like weird praise but if the portrayal of a relationship is so stunningly beautiful that it makes me question my sexuality, that's powerful film making right there. As a final point, I'd also like to add that Sufjan Stevens' score is excellent and I've been listening to his song Futile Devices on a near constant loop for weeks.

I haven't seen every 2018 Best Picture nominee yet but as we stand, Call Me By Your Name is my favourite. It's like the summer it takes place during; while you're in it, it's heavenly and feels like it may last forever but as it nears the end, the reality takes over and all you want to do is stay here, forever. See, this is the reason I held off reviewing this film for so long, it's hard to put into words what this film makes me feel. Even a peach emoji would poorly explain it. If words won't work, maybe numbers will. As far as I'm concerned, Call Me By Your Name easily deserves a


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