Review of Call Me by Your Name (2017) by Robert B — 21 Dec 2017

I absolutely loved this film!

Italian director Luca Guadagnino's romance "Call Me By Your Name" is a testosterone-fueled romp through Northern Italy in the 1980s.

Actor Timothée Chalamet's hyper-nuanced performance as 17 year-old Elio was superb. We feel every beat of Elio's teenage mood swings and inner turmoil. When Elio finally kisses the 24 year-old Oliver (played by Armie Hammer), we can almost taste their sheer delight and sexual intensity. While the film features two young men, this universal tale is really about the ups and downs of young love.

The dialogue is clever and precise. There's a stand-out performance by actor Michael Stuhlbarg who plays both Elio's father and Oliver's archaeology professor.

The art direction is spectacular as we bike our way through the countryside of Lombardy, Italy. There's a dream-like quality in each frame because the film was shot entirely on 35-mm film. The accompanying musical score adds a light, summery soundscape to many of the scenes.

"Call Me By Your Name" packs an emotional punch and it will leave you breathless by the last scene. This movie forces us to look back at our own teen years with bittersweet nostalgia. It reminds us of what it was like to have a first crush, a first kiss, and a first sexual encounter. The ache that the viewer feels is the wish that we could somehow go back in time-and do it the way Elio and Oliver did it.

One last thing: I will never be able to look at peaches the same way ever again.