Love at Second Sight: Call Me by Your Name (2017)

I still remember the first time I watched Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name as if it were yesterday. It was a winter afternoon as cold as the film left me. As much as I wanted to love the film since it would be representing Italy at the Oscars, and I had heard nothing but praises for it, I felt absolutely nothing other than boredom. This time though, it was a whole different experience as I found myself on the verge crying multiple times, only to burst into tears towards the end.

Summer 1983, Northern Italy. The son of a Greco-Roman culture professor, Samuel (Michael Stuhlbarg), and a translator, Annella (Amira Casar), American-Italian 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) spends his days in his family’s villa playing music, reading and flirting with his French friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). But his focus is drawn from her when Oliver (Armie Hammer), a twenty-something American student arrives at the villa to intern with Elio’s father.

At first Elio hides his feelings for Oliver by constantly complaining about his cockiness, arrogance, and rude American behaviour in general. In turn, Oliver isn’t much of a fan of Elio’s behaviour and dislike towards him. The two of them are drawn together nonetheless and bond. Eventually, Elio inexplicitly confesses his feelings to Oliver and, although Oliver is reticent to act on those feelings at first, they eventually embark on a passionate romance.

There’s so much I loved about Elio and Oliver’s love story the first time. First, the incredibly slow pace, an issue for many, is what makes the romance feel real. The film is slow because it needs to be in order to take us on Elio’s journey where everything and nothing happen at once. A journey made of small gestures, glances, innocuous physical contacts like a pat on the back or more straightforward and erotic ones like a foot massage, and silences more revealing than words. Second, the romance between Elio and Oliver is never depicted as a gay romance but simply like a romance. While the fear of coming out or being unwillingly outed is always in the air, the core of the story is Elio’s struggle with dealing with his own emotions and expressing himself and his fear of losing his first love.

But, as I mentioned above, while I thought the romance was sweet and charming, I didn’t have an emotional response to it. Were I to describe it today I’d say it is sweet and charming but also sad and incredibly heartbreaking. Whether because I’m older or (probably) because I recently came to terms with my own (bi)sexuality, Call Me by Your Name had a huge emotional impact on me this time. I felt like I was experiencing Elio’s journey, his pain and his struggles. Whenever he hurt, I hurt. And at the end, I felt the heartbreak Elio felt. And shed many tears in the process.

Sufjan Stevens’s haunting songs played a huge part in that — I got emotional as soon as his songs started playing — as did Timothée Chalamet’s terrific performance as Elio. Not only Chalamet wonderfully captures the internal struggles of a young man who is trying to understand all the new emotions he's feeling while falling in love for the first time and discovering his sexuality, but he brings to Elio such charming and yet nervous energy along with some physical ticks that make the character feel more real. The way he delivers Elio's feelings, with brilliant use of both body language and facial expressions, really makes you believe you're actually witnessing the birth of a first love. 

The main supporting cast is just as good. Armie Hammer is finally given a role he can shine in and does not waste it. Not only he nails the physical aspect as he is a very attractive and charming man, but the emotional complexity of the character too. Olivers hides his vulnerability and weakness behind self-confidence and arrogance, and Hammer delivers all that so effortlessly. In addition, the chemistry between Hammer and Chalamet is mesmerizing. As for Michael Stuhlbarg, he portrays Elio's father with such warmth, and the monologue he delivers towards the end is a very powerful and heartfelt one. 

Every other aspect of the film is just perfect. The cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is breathtaking — it perfectly captures the beauty of the Italian landscape and it makes you feel like you are there. The music compliments the story and, as with Stevens's powerful songs, it gives you even a stronger sense of the characters' emotions. Even the infamous peach scene had a different effect on me this time — while I found it pointless and rather disgusting at first, it revealed itself to me for the powerful scene it really is as it first puts emphasis on the theme of desire and self-exploration, and latter marks the moment when both Elio and Oliver surrender to their feelings.