Review of Call Me by Your Name (2017) by Ricardo O — 07 Jan 2018

Perhaps my expectations were too high or perhaps it's because I had just finished the book, but I was underwhelmed by this film. I experienced what I often experience when I watch a movie based on a book I've read, which is the movie seems like a superficial CliffsNotes version of the story. Call Me By Your Name is a book that actually doesn't lend itself well to a film because so much of the story takes place in Elio's thoughts. The film does hit most of the key events in the book, but doesn't connect them up well because we're not privy to Elio's thoughts about what's happening and why they are happening, as we are in the book. Scenes happen in the film because they happened in the book even though they don't necessarily flow organically from what's been shown so far. The chief example of this is the central romance between Elio and Oliver. It begins at a certain point in the story because that's when it begins in the book, but there really hasn't been enough groundwork laid for it, especially with Oliver. The film does very little to show that Oliver has been falling for Elio and so it feels a bit random when we see how into Elio he is. This also prevents the romance from taking on the deep, love of a lifetime aspect it is supposed to have. I never got the impression that the characters were experiencing anything deeper than a typical summer fling. And so I'm not that impressed with James Ivory's screenplay. He stayed very loyal to the book, which is not a good thing for a film when the book is as introspective as CMBYN.

The film is well cast and well acted, but the editing struck me as a bit rough. I was left with the impression that the editing had been rushed to completion to meet a deadline. The whole effort feels undercooked to me.

It's not a bad film by any means. In the end, I think it will be remembered for the shades of gray it presents in human sexuality and also for introducing us to Timothee Chalamet, who is a wonderful actor destined for stardom.