Written by James Ivory, based on Andre Aciman's 2007 novel of the same name
Starring Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Call Me By Your Name (2017) is a beautifully rich, warm and visceral film depicting the heated, passionate flush of first love whilst also balancing a clear sense of delicacy and fragility that took my breath away more times than I could count. The stunning Lombardy region of Northern Italy, in which time appears to stand still, frames this tender narrative and is as much a part of the story as the vivacious characters. So much of the desires, victories and losses of precocious 17 year old Elio and his father's heart-fluttering intern Oliver, are informed and influenced by their environment that is drenched in European art, history and culture. Mr Perlman is a professor specialising in Greco-Roman culture and the family's 17th century villa echoes this pursuit in its classical furnishings. Elio, a gifted musician, spends most of his long summer transcribing and playing classical music on the piano. Subsequently, the charming melodies of this past-time form their own layer in the soundtrack, in perfect harmony with the aesthetic of the film; stone walls, fresh orange juice in glass jugs, bare feet wet from the swimming pool walking across dark floorboards and dinner under the shade of winding trees. Fresh fruit soon became an image I associated with this story, with oranges, peaches and plums appearing in abundance on screen. With these fleshy, sticky treats come pleasant connotations of summer and new life in all its ripe, blossoming glory. However, as the film developed, I came to understand that fruit could mean something more sensual and animalistic; something sickly sweet that ripens in the sun and can be torn and destroyed to a pulp. (These associations probably have much to do with a certain incident with a peach but I'm convinced my fixation with the fruit in this film would only be slightly less without this scene.) Moving on from the visual delights, the tension between Elio and Oliver was beautifully crafted throughout this cinematic masterpiece. More often than not it was almost palpable, practically suffocating, and I felt as though I rode every wave of frustration and relief with the lead roles. As Elio navigates the overwhelming and dizzying dreamscape of first love, with Oliver as a wary guide, I was awash with an immense longing to also fall in love. I craved a long, hot summer somewhere where time goes to sleep and everyone lives on peaches and plums and where one day an enigmatic intellectual would cycle into the piazza where I am sat outside a coffee shop and we would lock eyes as our stars collided a thousand miles above us. Anyway, the true joy of this film is that there is no punishment or obstacle to overcome for the lovers other than their own painful understanding that their relationship can only be as long as the season. The Perlman villa and the idyllic village surrounding it are a blissful haven, remote from the social realities Elio and Oliver will each likely return to as the summer ends. This isolation from but coexistence with reality allows the film to truthfully reflect the year 1983 but without all its negative social baggage. Thus, unlike most stories of same-sex love, this is not one of strife and adversity but of personal exploration and acceptance. Call Me By Your Name is a coming-of-age summer romance the same as any other except that this one is impeccable.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
P.S. I have figured it's about time I start making the most of the fact that I work in a cinema in the holidays (and therefore watch films for free) and start writing about what I watch. I'm graduating in 6 months and this realisation has given me a real drive to keep up writing in any and every capacity I can until then, if only to feel slightly more self sustainable when the time comes that I exist outside of an educational institution. So, this piece is the first entry of a new series of posts called Thoughts from the Cinema. (Working title probably, I don't know, help.) These aren't film reviews as such, just thoughts. I don't know how regular they'll be but time is a human construct and everything is relative!!!
Ro is listening to: Alone by Jessie Ware
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