Browsing Sky Cinema for something to watch, I came across Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 coming-of-age romantic drama, Call Me by Your Name. I knew next to nothing about it, but drawn by seeing Timothée Chalamet’s name, I decided to dive in.
Adapted from André Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name by James Ivory, it tells of a summer romance between the precocious Elio Perlman, the 17-year-old son of archaeology professor Samuel, and Oliver, a 24-year-old graduate, who is staying at the family’s summer home in northern Italy to assist Samuel.
Set in 1983, Elio initially thinks he has little in common with the older man – indeed, that he is arrogant. But gradually, he’s drawn toward him and starts to understand that he sexually attracted to him.
It’s not difficult to see why it was critically acclaimed and won a batch of awards – including an Oscar and Bafta for best adapted screenplay for Ivory.
The look of it is beautiful – Sayombhu Mukdeeprom’s cinematography is excellent. The film uses music so well – Elio is obsessed with music, plying piano and guitar, transposing music and adapting a piece of early Bach to perform it in the styles of later composer (Chalamet plays both piano and classical guitar in the film).
The central cast is very good indeed. Not just Chalamet, but Armie Hammer as Oliver bring great intelligence and sensitivity to their roles. Amira Casar as Annella, Elio’s mother also deserves a mention, as does Michael Stuhlbarg’s father seems light for the main, but gets a superb final scene of great emotional depth.
The age difference between the main characters was controversial for some – particularly in the US, where the lowest age of consent was higher than in Italy.
Two writers in the American journal, Psychiatric Times, said the central relationship was “about asexual predation” and asked whether one scene in particular was “appropriate” (the scene involves alcohol), perhaps forgetting that it’s a work of fiction, adapted from another work of fiction – and fiction doesn’t have to deal with “appropriate” or that cultural differences do actually happen.
One imagines a substantial element of that was a certain type of American prudery – not just about sex, but also about teenagers having a drink (though a gun is fine).
An enjoyable, sensitive and beautiful film about self-discovery.
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