There is magical sense of purity to this film; innocence and wonder. Call Me By Your Name is that film that rarely gets made, and it’s a wonder that it does. Every word, every frame, every movement is delicately crafted that creates a film that is remarkably touching and special.
Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer make for delicate and lovely pair. Trekking through a journey of forbidden love that is so pure they cannot deny themselves of it. The film plays out slowly, building to an emotionally draining yet liberating ending.
Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino crafts a beautiful showboat of a film that is scribed by the legendary, and now Academy Award winning, James Ivory. The film is layers upon layers of innocence taking an unexpected crash course into the realities of life. Life can be a very empowering and cruel teacher, especially when it comes to the vulnerability of love.
Michael Stuhlburg gives a very low key performance as Chalamet’s father, who servers mainly as a background character only to give an emotionally breaking monologue in the final act of the film that completely stops everything else that has transpired. Stuhlburg’s delivery of that dialogue is why films are important, why films matter, and how they change lives. It’s a monologue that is the conversation that every father should have with his child, but probably doesn’t.
The film is shored up by cinematography, the production design, the costumes of Lacoste and Ralph Lauren polo shirts, but the real showstopper is Sufjan Steven’s original song for the film, Mystery Of Love.
Review by Frank Mengarelli
-
Call Me By Your Name
Summary
This film is remarkable. It’s challenging and it’s beautiful. Whimsical and dangerous. It’s a film that is reliant upon its performances but in a special way. The characters are able to communicate with one another in this language of love that is so touching and vulnerable, it is truly astounding how they were able to do so in such an organic and honest way.
