CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

SYNOPSIS:
When a graduate student (Armie Hammer) comes to study with his family in their north Italy home, the son of an American professor (Timothee Chalamet) becomes infatuated. They share an unforgettable summer filled with music, food and romance.

Review by Louise Keller:
Desire and the flush of first love permeate this haunting film, whose Italian countryside setting echoes the beauty of the sentiments portrayed. There is a sense of innocence about Luca Guadagnino's film - his most personal; a contrast to his 2015 psychological drama, 'A Bigger Splash' (2015) about temptations and carnal pleasures. Or 'I am Love' (2010), about love, passion and family.

James Ivory's adaptation of Andre Aciman's coming of age novel captures all the emotional turmoil, longing and elation of its protagonist Elio (Timothee Chalamet in a career defining performance), as he discovers love for the first time. Armie Hammer is perfectly cast as the handsome, golden Adonis (think Jude Law in The Talented Mr Ripley): the object of Elio's desire.

The film's great accomplishment is how it manages to make us feel the emotions portrayed: infatuation, lust and being happy just by being around a special someone. It also transcends the essence of a gay movie; its central theme could be about any relationship.

There is something idyllic about the double storey house with green shutters surrounded by shady fruit trees. It is the summer of 1983 and the film feels as fresh as the spray of the nearby waterfall. For Elio, everything changes when the self-assured Oliver (Hammer) arrives and charms everyone - young, old, male and female. The mood is leisurely as Elio reads, transposes music and plays the piano. In other years Elio might have been waiting for summer to end, but this year everything is different.

The sexual tension between Elio and Oliver begins from the outset. A glance, a casual touch, a neck massage... then the first lingering kiss in the grass. The open door of their shared bathroom is a window of opportunity. Part of the mating ritual. Guadagnino's film aptly captures Elio's inner voice and innermost desires. If there is one scene that may shock, it is the one that features a ripe peach. The American Pie equivalent. Watch for the wonderful scene in which Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg) opens the communication lines with his son. As for the ending - that lingering scene in which all the action is internal - it is hugely moving. Just like the film.