It’s Pride month, and what better way to begin it than with a review of a gay film!
Basic Premise
Fascination, interest, and utter captivation for each other are how the main characters in Call Me By Your Name interact. Elio spends weeks in the company of Oliver teasing him with his piano playing, joking with him about the meaning of words, riding bikes to town and back. He neither shows nor hides his interest. Elio watches Oliver dance, mesmerized. He looks at him across rooms as he eats, thinks, writes, or converses with his father. When we finally see Elio engage with Oliver sexually, the passion that erupts is explosive. We know that the interest is mutual, but it really is Elio who is driving the car in this romance. It is Elio who wants, deeply.
An Idealized Gay Romance Without Conflict
I think one of the strengths of this film is the way Elio accepts his attraction without anguish and allows it to flourish within himself. Perhaps this is because he is someone cherished by his family, talented, and comfortable in his skin. There isn’t any kind of disruptive self hate or dysfunction about him. We can see that in his actions. This guides the romance aspect of the film.
As far as the acting goes, Chalamet carries the role exceptionally well, even with some of the awkward and stumbling teenage boyness oozing out of him, or maybe because of it. I spent most of the film trying to decipher what what acting and what wasn’t. It was my first film by him I intended to take seriously!
While watching I would sometimes forget that Call Me By Your Name is a gay story, in part because the conflicts that erupt aren’t explicitly about internalized homophobia or hateful parents. They’re just relational conflicts like living on different continents, being different ages, being a liar (oof). It’s a love story that people of all sexualities will likely connect with, and whether or not that’s good depends perhaps on the viewer.
Lastly, there is something exceptionally interesting that I as a (mostly) heterosexual woman misses during the flirtation. They make jokes at each other’s expense, hit each other lightly, and become energized in each other’s presence in much the same way two friends would. I wondered if that itself was a hint at my romantic blind spots, an intentional move by the film makers to engage in vagueness or an entrance into the gay world that I previously had never looked at.
Overall, this has become one of my favourite films and if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it!
Rating: 5/5
For more thoughts and reviews on film, check out the rest of my blog in the cinema category!
