Call me by your name (2017)

When was reading Call Me By Your Name I knew I wanted to watch the film. I thought it would be a great relatively easy story to put to film. I finally got around to watching it and here is my review.

The film in short
In 1980s Italy, romance blossoms between a seventeen-year-old student and the older man hired as his father’s research assistant.
I found this information here.

Trailer

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My thoughts
It was lovely, I had a great afternoon watching it. It wasn’t the best film I have ever seen and it didn’t hit as many notes for me as the book had but it was a fun watch.

I read Elio as awkward and a bit angsty. I understood him as someone who didn’t really know who he wanted to be and how he wanted to act. Which is very in line with the teenage experience. And then there is Timothée Chalamet who is ‘cool’ and who I think has this air around him of being deeply self-assured. I read Elio not as a loner because he has lots of friends but as a bit awkward teenager in the middle of puberty and there I was wondering, did I read it wrong? Because although Timothée did a marvelous job I couldn’t help but doubt myself. As the angsty in the middle of puberty boy is not quite there, other than that he was a wonderful choice for Elio. Looks wise and delivery of the lines were spot on for the character.

In the book, Oliver is a bit of a d*** which he is also in the film but in the book we love him because Elio does. In the movie, he was significantly nicer, which was good otherwise it wouldn’t have been such a good film. I did understand Elio’s infatuation a bit less than I did in the book but that happens with movies. They can not portray the inner feelings of characters in a way that books can but it did come across as authentic even though we weren’t privy to Elio’s thoughts.

The book had such an emotional impact on me whereas the movie did not. Which is a testament I am sure about how much difference an inner monologue makes. I would have loved the movie better if I saw it before I read the book I think. But I thought it was a wonderful film. I enjoyed it, if it is something you are interested in. I would say have a great afternoon watching it.