Call Me By Your Name Review

By Robert Maestas

Call Me By Your Name (2017) Directed by Luca Guadagnino

Call Me By Your Name is about a teenage boy, Elio (Timothee Chalamet), coming to terms with his sexuality during a long summer in Italy 1983. His parents have invited a handsome grad student, Oliver (Armie Hammer), to spend six weeks with the family. When Oliver arrives, Elio finds himself initially hating, but sexually curious, about Oliver.

As far a plot goes, that's basically it. This movie is fairly self-contained and very deliberately paced; It's almost as if you're there on this long summer vacation with the characters. The cinematography is beautiful, showing off the wonderous landscapes of Italy. Michael Stuhlbarg as Elio's sweet and understanding unnamed father steals the movie. There's a rousing speech that Stuhlbarg gives near the end of the movie about heartbreak and acceptance that is indeed Oscar-worthy. Unfortunately, those are the only positive aspects that I saw with the movie.

So here's the thing: I'm all about films showing these different kinds of budding relationships, especially movies where a character goes on a journey of self-discovery. It doesn't matter the sexuality, gender, or ethnicity. There's been movies like this before, where a young man finds himself falling in love with an older man. It's completely consensual too, since the age of consent in Italy is 14 and Elio is 17. And there's something to be said of this film showing this representation of a fairly common homosexual relationship. It's not original in that respect, however. Elio is not a great protagonist. I found his character to be whiny, pretentious, and very awkward. He kisses like a large-mouth bass. He hugs Oliver by throwing his entire body at him. He talks like it's a chore to speak to other humans. And yes, he puts his penis in an apricot. This can all be characterized by saying that he's a weird teenager that doesn't know how to act yet, but I found no empathy for the character because of that portrayal.

Armie Hammer is Armie Hammer in this. Nothing exciting about his performance, which is baffling to me why this movie got so many Oscar nominations. I'm actually angry that a bland movie like this is getting so much attention from award shows. Could you consider this Oscar-bait? Maybe. Could the Best Picture nomination be because the Academy wanted a film with homosexual representation? Probably. They want to seem open-minded and spread out with their interests with the Best Picture nominees. But then why isn't Coco nominated? Or Blade Runner 2049? Or Brigsby Bear? Because the Academy isn't as open-minded as you think. They still shutter at the idea of an animated movie (or sci-fi, or comedy) getting the statue. All three of those movies were just off the top of my head, but they all had an emotional impact in completely different ways that left me joyous that I saw them. CMBYN left me angry that it was nominated over so many great movies from 2017. If you take the awards out of the conversation about this movie, it's just an alright movie. Other than Stuhlbarg's speech, the dialogue is below par and vague. There is barely a story. There is nothing that pops out with the direction even. I found myself comparing it to A Single Man and I Am Love, but those movies are so recognizable and have gravitas to them. CMBYN is only decent, serviceable.