Languid telling, during a 1980s Tuscan summer, of first love where 17 year-old Elio (a gentle, nuanced performance by Timothée Chalamet) falls for his father’s archealogical assistant, the over-confident Oliver (Armie Hammer).
It’s a bumpy ride for Elio – and for the audience. At times beautiful, at times stretching credulity as the all-American bumptious Jock purportedly falls for the skinny, bookish waif. Chalamet is pitch-perfect as Elio but a towering Hammer is less convincing.
Director Luca Guadagnino perfectly captures the nervousness of first love and its associated heartbreak but Elio’s relationship with his father, Michael Stuhlbarg and peers highlights the shortcomings of the love affair.
4 Oscar nominations in 2018 (including best film and best actor for Chalamet – won one, James Ivory, for adapted screenplay)
Rating: 68%
Director: Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, A Bigger Splash)
Writer: James Ivory (Maurice, Shakespeare-Wallah) – based on the novel by André Aciman
Main cast: Timothée Chalamet (Interstellar, Lady Bird), Armie Hammer (The Social Network, The Lone Ranger), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, The Shape of Water)
An Opinion or Two 
3 thoughts on “‘Call Me By Your Name’”