Call Me By Your Name | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I've finally finished watching the 'Best Picture' Oscar nominees, and I ended with this movie, which I'd probably heard the most about.

It's about a 17-year-old boy called Elio who is living with his family in Italy. One day during the summer, a man comes to stay, called Oliver. He's a doctoral student who is working as an intern for Elio's father. As the men spend more time together, they discover an attraction that changes their summer, and their lives, forever.

I tried not to have any expectations of this film when I was watching it, but I couldn't ignore all the praise that it was getting, so I did assume that I'd like the movie.

And I hate to say this, but I didn't.

I liked the idea of the story that it was telling, and I feel like I'd probably enjoy the book because I was really interested in the story itself - a young boy discovering himself and having some kind of sexual awakening.

But I didn't like the film.

The first reason why is because of the character of Oliver.

Armie Hammer is an amazing actor that I am a huge fan of, but the character in and of itself is one that I couldn't warm to. He seemed really smarmy and weird, and like he totally didn't know what he wanted. It felt gross to watch him with Elio because, not only was he significantly older, but it seemed a bit like he was taking advantage. But also, that he had full control of the situation, which didn't sit right with me. If he had said 'stop', the relationship would have ended, but Elio didn't have that same control.

And then there was Elio. He was only 17, and I remember what it was like to be 17 - to be impulsive and adventurous. But from what I could see, Elio wasn't a mature 17, he was a childlike 17, which just made the relationship seem even stranger.

And then there's the thing that annoyed me the most.

This film was kind of marketed as a forbidden romance type thing. There are several moments when both try to ignore their desires, and Oliver's character says several times 'we can't do this' - so I thought it was a tale of a summer of forbidden romance.

However, why was it forbidden?

I mean, I understand that that's not the kind of thing that could be flaunted out and about in Italy at this time, but we know for sure that Elio's parents know (or find out) about the relationship, and neither of them care in the slightest. In fact, they're both really happy for the couple. So why were they so wary about being seen by them?

Again, I feel like this 'forbidden' aspect was just an excuse for Oliver to have more control over Elio, as they could only be together when he decided they could.

So overall, I'm not a huge fan of the movie, and I probably won't watch it again. However, the story itself sounds great and I'm definitely considering reading the book!

Lou xx