Best Picture Nominee Review: Call Me By Your Name

With the 90th Academy Awards scheduled for March 4th, film fans are trying to predict which 2017 film will win the “Best Picture” award. One of the nominees for the prestigious category is Call Me By Your Name. It is the story of seventeen-year-old Elio Perlman, who is spending his tranquil summer in his family’s northern Italian villa, playing music, reading, and hanging out with friends. Everything changes, however, when Oliver, a twenty-four-year-old American graduate student, arrives to live at the villa over the summer while working on his thesis. As the summer drones on, the two form an unlikely relationship.

The focus of the film may be a romantic relationship between two men, but anyone can find beauty in the film’s intimacy. It is evident by its critical acclaim as well as its success with moviegoers. Only the best films strike home with critics and general audiences. This is a beautiful film in every way, and it is easily the best of the year.

This film is great because it is different; it does not follow the traditional format. There is no inciting incident, rising action, climax, and barely any resolution. There is not even a defined conflict. This is why the film seems real: life does not follow a formula. It is simply a sequence of events taking place over one summer. The main relationship is between Elio and Oliver, but the film cherishes relationships of all types. It goes to great lengths to develop the relationships between Elio and Oliver, Elio and his parents, Oliver and Elio’s parents, and Elio and his female love interest, Marzia. The relationships seem so genuine. While the relationship between Elio and Oliver is the one we care most about, the film’s secondary relationships are not to be forgotten.

The film has a very slow pace, but it is all intentional. The plot meanders along slower than a tortoise in molasses, but I mean that in the best way possible. It is the slow pace that allows you to grow attached to the characters. You learn to cherish their relationships and every moment of intimacy. Then, it is ripped away. It is a summer relationship, so you know it has to end; you know from the very beginning. When the time comes, however, you are not ready, yet the film still wastes no time in ripping it all away. You do not realize how much you cared about their relationship until it is gone, and there is no hope for it returning. In this respect, the emotion sneaks up on you, catching you off guard; by the final shot, the film has successfully ripped your heart out.

Such an emotional film, however, cannot resonate without the talent to back it up. Luckily, there is no shortage of talent on screen in this film. The acting is strong on all fronts, but leads Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer steal the show. Hammer gives an incredible performance that perfectly captures Oliver’s ambiguity and indecisiveness. You never know what he truly wants in the relationship, or how much he even cares. Chalamet, however, is the true winner here. Despite his young age, he gives an incredibly mature and emotive performance as Elio. He even somehow pulled off an uncut, unedited crying scene that lasted the entirety of the credits. Let’s just say he’s nominated for Best Actor for a reason.

The film also looks and sounds gorgeous. The sound design is pristine and the score is reserved but beautiful. It totally deserved its Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The cinematography is also brilliant. The setting of northern Italy is absolutely stunning. Everything is so earthy and lush, and the colors leap off the screen. Everything simply looks and sounds phenomenal, and it only immerses you further.

Simply put, Call Me By Your Name is a masterpiece. It is incredibly endearing, intimate, and emotional. It uses an overall sense of realism and genuinity to draw you in. Never before has a film affected my emotions this genuinely. Call Me By Your Name lingers for hours after the credits roll, mimicking an actual broken heart, and this is something special. This is a special film with great emotion, phenomenal acting, and absolutely beautiful cinematography. It is rare that a film this genuine and emotional comes along. I am confident that it will go down in filmmaking history as a cinematic masterpiece. Will this win Best Picture? I am not sure. Does it deserve the win? Absolutely.