"Call Me By Your Name" (2017) Film Review

“Call Me By Your Name” is a rare piece of cinematic art.

Directed By: Luca Guadagnino

Rated: R

Runtime: 2:12

Review By: Livi Edmonson

It’s summer of 1983 “somewhere in Northern Italy”. 17-year-old Elio Perlman (played by Timothèe Chalamet) and his parents are staying at their beautiful summer house, continuing their tradition of having a doctoral student come stay with them, in order to perfect their manuscript and intern with Elio’s father (played by Michael Stuhlbarg).

This year, the student is the ultra charming, Oliver (played by Armie Hammer), who is good-looking, intelligent, and extremely passive-aggressive about everything. Whether it was the gorgeous Italian landscape surrounding them or just the sweet summertime vibe in general, Elio and Oliver soon start to feel feelings of compassion for one another and bond over the one thing they feel they cannot share with each other: love.

“Call Me By Your Name” is based on the 2007 novel by the same name. It has very quickly become one of the most critically acclaimed films not only of the year, but also of all time. It is a coming of age story about first love, heartbreak, and how both of these things define how we live the life we live.

The direction by auteur on the rise, Luca Guadagnino, is nothing less than stunning. The score, cinematography, writing… literally everything about this flick is insanely beautiful. In fact, it is so beautiful that one could call it more of a piece of art than a piece of cinema.

But the one element of this film that anyone who has seen it can’t stop talking about is the acting. However, not just acting, just one actor in particular: Timothèe Chalamet.

At only 23 years old, Timothèe Chalamet is the new kid on the block this year not only in awards season, but also in Hollywood. With a quite a few awards already under his belt, Chalamet’s work in “Call Me By Your Name” has scored him an Oscar nom this season and may I just say that out all of the nominees this year, he is the contender to look out for.

He stars not only in this film that is nominated for Best Picture, but also “Lady Bird” that is nominated for Best Picture too. It is safe to say that this is Chalamet’s year. He has won over the hearts of critics and audiences everywhere and has quickly secured his place as one of Hollywood’s biggest (and youngest) risk takers.

Though Armie Hammer brings more of a risky and refreshing performance than we are used to seeing him do, Timothèe Chalamet is easily the scene stealer, as well as the most appealing thing about this film. Basically without his strong, convincing performance, this movie would the same. See the film and you will understand why.