Call Me By Your Name (2017) Dir: Luca Guadagino
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I cannot tell you how many times I've heard people talk about Luca Guadagino's 2017 romantic drama. Based on the popular novel by André Aciman, this film catapulted Guadagino into international stardom, and ignited the career of the now intensely popular Timothée Chalamet. I don't know why I hadn't watched this until now, but when the opportunity arose, I felt it was worth giving my time to at last.
The use of sound in the film is wonderful, much like in Guadagino's other films. The song choices are excellent, but my favourite aspect of the sound in this film is the way it is edited. Music starts and stops abruptly, and diegetic sound serves as an integral element of the film. It draws the audience in, without them even realising.
Visually, I was not surprised by how satisfying the film was to look at, considering my growing familiarity with Guadagino's work. The lighting was satisfying, the framing of many of the shots was beautiful, and the colours were vibrant and warm. All these features feed the peaceful, summery, romantic aesthetic of the story.
Speaking of which, I couldn't help but recognise how moving the story was. I liked the natural way the romance developed, and the simplicity of the story, in regards to what happened between them. I thought that there were some very cute and romantic scenes. However, there is a serious point to be made about the power dynamic between the two lovers.
Elio is 17 in the story - he's fragile, naive, and sexually immature. By contrast, Oliver is 24, far more experienced in just about every way, and has an undeniable position of implicit authority over his younger counterpart. I had similar issues with another highly touted film; 'Licorice Pizza', which also featured a seemingly innocent, but very problematic, relationship between two people with a relatively significant age gap.
Ironically enough, this leading role served as Timothée Chalamet's coming-out party, at least in terms of Hollywood. It launched his career towards the stratosphere, and with good reason. He was simply wonderful from start to finish. His ability to come across as vulnerable has always been exceptional, and that is much the same here. Furthermore, the way he interacts with those around him feels so believable and natural, it's hard to fault.
It really is a shame that Armie Hammer has damaged his own reputation so much with his bizarre and controversial behaviour away from the silver screen, because he has shown on numerous occasions, including in this role, that he can give some excellent acting displays. He had a smooth magnetism here, which served him very nicely, and his chemistry with Chalamet felt very natural.
Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, and Esther Garrel provide the most notable supporting performances in the film, with both Stuhlbarg and Garrel having at least one very well acted scene each, towards the end of the film. While Casar is mostly a quiet presence in the film, I felt she was a consistent face that felt natural and comfortable on-screen.
Overall, there are elements of this film that are truly beautiful, especially in regards to its cinematography. However, it loses a lot of points for the problematic relationship between its lead characters, which puts an uncomfortable tinge on a lot of the events that take place. From a filmmaking standpoint, this is an exquisite film, but from a story standpoint, it's troubling.
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