Call me by your name
Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend delves into adjacent queer and queer headlines from the past that deserve a watch or re-watch.
Inspiration: call me by your name
Maybe it’s we’ve been spending the whole summer listening to Lil Nas X, or maybe the coming of Labor Day means summer is on the wane. Either way, this weekend is looking forward to the juiciest of all ‘I’ll never forget this summer’ romance.
Call Me By Your Name took the world by storm in 2017 for its portrayal of a passionate love affair between two young men. Set in 1983, the film follows the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet), the son of an archeology professor (Michael Stuhlbarg) living in Italy. One summer, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a graduate student, comes to live with the family as an assistant to Elio’s father. Elio feels an immediate sexual attraction to Oliver, who at first seems distant, but comes to return Elio’s flirtation. Their erotic desire for each other grows, until one night it reaches an explosive passion. The two have a brief, tender affair before Oliver has to leave for the United States.
Chalamet went from obscurity to Hollywood’s A-List thanks to Call Me By Your Name, and for good reason: he not only gave a great performance in the film, he gave the best performance of 2017. Watch the way he controls his eyes in the film, evoking both the innocence of youth and the fiery intellect. Few actors could manage to do both at the same time, but Chalamet does. It is one of the greatest portraits of a teenager in the history of cinema.
It helps, of course, that Chalamet has enough support, starting with the magnificent Oscar-winning screenplay by James Ivory (who is gay and also went on to become the longest-serving Oscar winner in history for his screenplay). Armie Hammer does a good job as Oliver, making him a carefree and reluctant lover. The real outstanding supporting work, however, comes from Stuhlbarg, who plays Professor Perlman as an observant and loving father. A monologue he delivers late in the film should have earned him an Oscar nomination and hints at a deeper truth: Many young people have same-sex romantic relationships, and no matter what the future holds. , they have nothing to be ashamed of. (The monologue also raises questions about what all those politicians and homophobes mean when they tell gays to “grow up.” What tragic, gay affair did they have in their youth?)
Shot on location in stunning Italian vistas, Call Me By Your Name vibrates with sensuality and eroticism – few films are so sexy or touching. Director Luca Guadagnino had promised a sequel, catching up with the couple more than a decade later. The recent Hammer scandals, however, seem to have eroded the prospect of a second aid. Lucky for us, we can always go back to the original.
There’s a reason the movie inspired Lil Nas X’s biggest hit to date. Oliver and Eilo won’t soon forget this magical summer, and neither will we.
Streamed on Starz, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, and VUDU.
