Call Me by Your Name

« Call me by your name » is a beautiful movie about first love. The atmosphere is dreamy and I have been taken on an emotional journey for two hours. Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer give remarkable performances. There is a great chemistry between them. The charming landscapes, the good soundtrack and the delicate direction also contribute to this achievement. I like the way homosexuality is portrayed: being gay is normal; there is no drama queen and no pathos. This is a touching story that makes me want to fall in love.

It's hard to put into words exactly the way I felt watching this film. Hours later it's hard to even begin to write my opinion on it. To put as simply as I can, the film perfectly captures its setting and atmosphere in a way few films do. The biggest credit needs to be given to director Luca Guadagnino, who is able to capture the smallest of details. Technically, the film is a marvel and I struggle to think of one flaw. It's beautiful, sensual, luscious in its execution, with absolutely marvelous pacing. In terms of pure directorial achievements, it's definitely one of the best of the year. The performance of Timothée Chalamet is also a pretty perfect portrayal of the character in the novel, and a completely internal performance that is reminiscent of Rooney Mara's wonderful work in Carol. Armie Hammer is also quite strong in the role, although it's a tricky character to get completely right. The novel is told completely through Elio's eyes and so we only imagine and see Oliver from a distance. He's more of an enigmatic figure in the novel than a real, tangible person. So much of that is due to the writing and the way Elio sees him as, so in terms of difficulty, I can imagine how Hammer had quite a task on his hands. Due to the literal nature of film, it's a type of character that always had to lose some of its mystery to its translation from the page, and it's as good one as can be.

I have so much I want to say about this but still can't find the right words, but the one thing I will say is that while the story here is pretty simple, the film really does capture, more than any other in recent memory, the feeling of that fleeting force of love and passion that can come to define one's life. It does so in a melancholic, beautiful way that makes it stand out from others of its kind. I can see why some people wouldn't take to it (and in fact the almost-unanimous positive reviews surprise me) because at the end of the day, the technical aspects work to create a film that can only be defined by a feeling that some people will experience watching the film and that others won't. All that sounds incredibly enigmatic, but it's a difficult feeling to pinpoint and considering the film, I think it's fitting.

Beauty in the midst of all the ugliness we're living in, it's like a shock. I wept like I hadn't wept in a movie since I was very young. It made me think and remember summers of my own life. It made remember sounds and smells. I was transported. The smartness, candor and gentleness of this unexpected love story goes beyond anything I've ever seen. Luca Guadagnino is rapidly becoming one my favorite directors working today. Armie Hammer completely demolished my preconceptions with a performance that is total perfection and I haven't mention Timothee Chalamet yet. No I need to dedicate the lasts paragraphs to him because his performance goes beyond perfection. I didn't know him at all. Now I' a fan. It reminded me of the first time I saw Daniel Day Lewis playing a gay punk in "My Beautiful Launderette" An explosion of beauty when you least expected. Thank you for that.

This film is pure sensuality and emotion. You can see through the character's eyes, taste through their mouths but most importantly you feel, by God how you feel. Luca Guadagnino manages to extract the very best out of his actors: Armie Hammer's performance shows unprecedented depth and Timothee Chalamet is the essence of awe inspiring acting, this film will land him an Oscar nomination at the very least.

Saw 'Call Me By Your Name' as someone trying to see as many films from 2017 as possible, because same sex love has been portrayed beautifully more than once and because it was one of the best received films of the year with a lot of award attention as we speak.

A distinction more than well deserved. 'Call Me By Your Name' is certainly one of my favourites of a pretty hit and miss 2017 (with some great films, bad films and films in between and near but not quite both extremes) and, like another gay love-themed film from 2017 'God's Own Country', one of the films of the year that really touched me. It is much more than just a "gay movie" and shouldn't be dismissed as just that, that on the most part it hasn't is a good thing.

'Call Me By Your Name' is most striking for its emotional impact. The erotic elements are tasteful and sensual, but it's the relationships that are even more beautifully done. The subject matter is handled with subtlety and surprising wit and the central relationship is tender and compassionate with a little tension. Just as, even more, impressive is the father and son relationship, which was sincere and touching, again with just as much burning intensity, and boasted the film's most powerful scene. The joy and pain of love and desire is portrayed in a way that really touched my soul and comes over as surprisingly relatable.

The acting is another big strength, advantaged by that the characters are interesting and not stereotypical with conflicts that are genuine and not predictable. Timothee Chalamet is especially remarkable and has a great future ahead of him if he continues in this direction. Armie Hammer is hardly inferior in perhaps his best performance to date, a very sympathetic performance which helps make the central relationship as powerful as it is. Michael Stuhlbarg also should be highlighted, a very wise and sincere performance and he has never been this poignant.

Luca Guadagnino directs beautifully, bringing the best out of his actors and the gorgeous scenery just as gorgeously shot. The sincerity, wisdom, compassion and wit of the source material is ideally captured in the script and as indicated the film looks great. The music has whimsy and understatement which suits the story perfectly, and while the pace is Merchant/Ivory-influenced-like deliberate it never felt dull to me due to being swept up in the emotion and being riveted by the writing and performances.

In conclusion, a beautiful film with much more to it than what it can easily be dismissed as. 10/10 Bethany Cox