‘Call Me by your name’ Film Review and analysis

Call me by your name is a romance/drama film set in Italy in the summer of 1983. From the beginning of the movie we are shown elements of the warm, vibrant and lush setting. Italian countryside and architecture fills almost every scene, emphasising the beauty of the surroundings and the story.

Romantic drama is a genre that explores the complex side of love. Usually, the plot centres on obstacle preventing on love between two people such as family disapproval or a forbidden love, however these issues are not prevalent in Call me by your name as throughout the movie there are instances where we are shown that Elio(the main character) is encouraged by his parents to spend time with Oliver(his love interest) so their love is not entirely forbidden, the obstacle is instead psychological restraint within both characters. 

The film doesn’t define love and sexuality in the stringent  western definitions that we’re used to, it focuses on the raw emotional connection between characters instead of the characters themselves. In lgbtq films there is usually some sort of stigma around homosexuality or a sense of repressed desire or punishment for being gay but in Call me by your name, neither of the characters are externally punished, they don’t have to deal with for example telling their wife or explaining to the their family - it’s just a story of two people who expose themselves to each other and make themselves vulnerable to one another, which is a beautiful thing to watch happen and what you would expect to see in a romance film. 

The director, Luca Guadagnino incorporates the setting into the main plot of the film. Northern Italy, the italian countryside and the holiday home that the story takes place in are essentially major characters - they have huge influences on the people living there, they have personalities. Characters become part of their surroundings so naturally that any idiosyncrasies add to the naturalism of each scene as a whole. The audience is able to get to intimately know and understand the landscape, summer light, dry italian torridity and the effect it has on the main characters - it awakens their love for one another. 

Guadagnino focuses so much attention on every small detail in the countryside, it’s almost as if during closeups, insects will fly into frame as if they are on cue. For instance, a fly appears a few times, always when a character is in a state of emotional angst. When it first appears, Elio tries to blow it away but then begins to ignore it and continues thinking about Oliver. This sides with the theme that Elio’s father expresses to him; that you shouldn’t resist ‘negative’ feelings or shoo the fly away. Pushing negative feelings away can sometimes crush your joys and desires, so it’s better to sit with the discomfort and shame because joy and bitterness in this instance, are inseparable. The fly is therefore a very subtle but effective symbol.

Another symbol which adds to the overall mis en scene is water. It could be about purification in almost a baptism kind of way. In particular for Oliver who suffers from more internal conflict around his attraction. When they first act on their attraction, they wash themselves in a lake (Oliver’s idea) - and using a full shot, the camera makes it clear that they are keeping their distance from one another, implying they are ashamed. 

The sound track lends itself so well to the atmosphere. Sufjan Stevens music is used at such powerful moments in the narrative that they widen the viewers mind - the nostalgic tone intrinsically links to your memories of the film in retrospect, meaning it stays with you for an extended amount of time, perhaps impacting you more than other films. 

The scene that most viewers would say impacted them the most was the fathers monologue at the end of the film in which Elio's father (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) essentially accepts his son for who he is and explains to him that he has been through similar struggles in terms of withdrawal and loss of a person who he loves. He gives Elio advice on how to deal with his pain - "in your place, if there is pain, nurse it.” Michael is a great actor. He speaks with his eyes, and nowhere else is that more evident in this movie than in this scene. Throughout the scene, the camera remains mostly trained on Stuhlbarg, the focus of the camera is manipulated and is kept at an eyelevel shot, the setting of this scene is relatively plain and the lighting dim, there is nothing else that we could be distracted by or observing aside from the father, telling of you are we should be focused on what he has to say, emphasising the sheer importance of this speech. It was almost poetic – vestiges of the weather assistance and guidance for a life not yet touched by wisdom of adult heard. This scene reflects Guadagnino’s intentions for the film. It’s what sets this film apart from most gay movies where characters are judged or punished for their sexuality; the monologue is calibrated to capture the movies optimism, although it leaves the majority of the audience in tears.

https://youtu.be/BFEqwSdfw7w - Elio’s father’s speech

Call me by your name was released ten years after the original book. The producers (James ivory, Peter Spears and Howard Rosenman) met three sets of  directors and writers but could not find anyone who would commit to the project. Scheduling filming in the summer in Italy also proved difficult.The producers contacted Guadagnino, their first choice to direct and he suggested that he codirect with Ivory who later agreed. Screenwriting took place at Ivory’s house, Guadagnino’s kitchen table in Crema (where it was filmed) and sometimes in New York City. The screenplay was completed in late 2015 and the film was released in 2017 distributed by Sony pictures classics (in the United States), Warner Bros.(in Italy), and Momento films International (worldwide). The cinematographer (Sayombhu Mukdeeprom) had never worked with Guadagnino before, but when he visited the region three years prior to production he could instantly see how the landscape and some light shaped as a director saw the film. The whole film was shot on a 35mm lens. This allowed the scenes to feel more realistic and heightens the effect on the viewers.

Call me by your name’s budget was $3.5 million and a box office it reached $41.9 million. It was rated 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.9/10 on IMDb. It received four nominations at the 90th academy awards (including best picture), winning for the best adapted screenplay. The screenplay also one at the 23rd critics choice awards, 71st British Academy film awards, and the writers Guild of America awards 2017.