"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Call Me by Your Name (2017, R)

*Disclaimer: While I wasn’t as taken with this movie as I was with On the Basis of Sex, I still enjoyed Armie Hammer’s performance in it, alongside Timothée Chalamet and the rest of the talented cast. As always, it pisses me off when a project is retroactively tainted by the news that one of the actors in it is a predator. Between the beautifully-feminist Marty supporting Ruth in On the Basis of Sex and Oliver thoughtfully securing Elio’s consent before initiating intimacy in this film, Hammer evidently didn’t learn anything from these characters.*

 
I’m glad I finally had a chance to see this best picture nominee.  I was interested in it pretty much as soon as it was on my radar, but it never came to my local theater.  After the nominations came out, I was hoping it’d circle around to my area, but no joy so far.  It might still be coming later, but since it appeared to be on its last chance at a semi-nearby theater (only one showing a day,) I figured I’d better snatch it up while I could get it (a few spoilers.)

In 1983, 17-year-old Elio has a life-changing summer in his home in northern Italy.  His father, an American professor, hires a graduate assistant for six weeks every summer to help with his work.  This year’s assistant, Oliver, is a young man from the States who Elio is instantly drawn to.  The two circle around each other, unsure how open to be and whether to pursue their attraction.

I enjoyed this movie, although not as much as I’d hoped to.  The age difference between the two leads is admittedly a factor.  With Oliver being 24 and Elio 17, I likely would’ve had some discomfort no matter what (although, to be fair, Elio is of legal age in Italy,) but the optics in the film magnify the issue.  Timothée Chalamet, who plays Elio, believably passes for 17, but as Oliver, Armie Hammer looks considerably older than 24.

Additionally, some of the buzz I’d heard about the film, for me, doesn’t quite match what I saw onscreen.  For example, I’d heard about the great chemistry between Chalamet and Hammer, and I do think that’s a fair assessment – but mainly during their physically-intimate scenes.  They really sell the romance for me when they’re touching or kissing, but what they’re just in each other’s presence, especially before they get together, I don’t quite feel the pull between them.  While there are still indicators, especially on Elio’s side, of that attraction – such as Elio getting jealous of Oliver dancing with a girl – it’s less about what I’m seeing/feeling and more about what’s happening, which makes it feel more tell than show.  I dunno; I just expected it to be more charged.

Also, I’d heard a good deal going in about how it’s an LGBTQ-themed story that’s happy, and how rare that is.  However, while this is definitely no Brokeback Mountain, The Danish Girl, or The Normal Heart, I think, more than anything, that speaks to how wildly tragic so many LGBTQ movies are, especially mainstream ones.  In this film, no one dies from AIDS-related illnesses, gets gay-bashed, commits suicide, or is disowned by their family.  But does that mean it’s happy?

I don’t want to spend the whole review complaining, because I did enjoy the movie.  I really like the characters and the world they inhabit, this cozy home of academia and art where characters clumsily flirt through Bach.  Chalamet’s lead actor nod is well-deserved – he completely embodies this teenage boy who is both very mature and endearingly awkward, timid but trying to be bold.  I like how Oliver and Elio’s relationship is infused with such playfulness, and I really enjoy the characterization of Elio’s parents (Michael Stuhlbarg is excellent as his dad.)  There’s also the music – Sufjan Stevens wrote a few songs for this movie, including “The Mystery of Love,” which is up for best original song, and they all fit the mood of the film perfectly, that dreamlike quality of a stolen summer romance.  Oh, and the scenery is positively to die for; love it!

Warnings

Sexual content, language, and drinking/smoking.

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