Call Me By Your Name

[stuartboy]

Tranquil but visually stunning.
Strong sex? My backside!
Story had promise. Totally lacked any substance.
Ought to have been about 3600s long only.

Best father to son speech. Ever.
(Even if Dad did look like Homeland's Saul Berensen)

[The Sparrow]

Stunning film. Absolutely beautiful. Magnificent performances all round and so moving.

[McG]

Wow . . .looks like a hot or cold film although only 2 reviews posted here so far!
I found it soooo sloooow and I didn't really care about any of the characters . . .a dysfunctional family with dysfunctional friends! I found the relationship between the 2 main characters to be bordering on paedo.
There were only 4 walk outs in Glasgow which I did expect to be more given the usual audience at Times films . . .
I could not recommend this film to anyone and would never watch it again though I did enjoy the music.
Marks 3/10

[stuartboy]

I should maybe elaborate on my "strong sex" remark. It stated strong sex on the classification slide at start. I actually found the sex scenes to be very tastefully done - if that's not a contradiction - with at one point the camera swinging away from the action to focus on a tree. It certainly is not explicit in any way. It's safe to take your granny to. Maybe just avoid apricots for a bit!

[alythonian]

SB how many walk outs in Edinburgh? Can't think the usual Times audience woukd be the target audience?

[stuartboy]

SB how many walk outs in Edinburgh? Can't think the usual Times audience woukd be the target audience?

None at all that I noticed, other than during the closing scene which was just a very lingering shot during which the credits rolled and the lights remained dimmed.

Note: nothing actually happens in this scene so not worth hanging on during.

[Dragenphly]

This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in a long while. Luca Guadgnino does an amazing job of telling Elio's story, his growing pains of being 17, his uncertainty but also his bravery. I love that it was filmed pretty much chronologically, and that the actors had three weeks 'hanging out' before shooting, which I think shows in the easy physicality running through all of the relationships; parental, romantic etc. In the book, we get everything from Elio's pov, but I love how we get definite moments from Oliver's as well, which Armie Hammer portrays really well.

I think the sex scenes were erotic without being overt, which this film wouldn't have benefited from, in my opinion. The moments between the main characters were tense and sensual without being titillating. Everything serves the story.

The last scene is reminiscent of Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday where we spend minutes just looking at his face, following his thought process. Guadagnino does something similar here and Timothée Chalamet pulls it off. I'd be surprised if he doesn't get an Oscar nomination. One to watch.

I also love Sufjan Stevens' score. There just such a lush story here, and Stuhlbarg's monologue at the end just underscores the beauty, joy and heartache of this story.

Really resonated with me, so very glad I'll get to see it a few more times on the big screen, where I can pretend I'm in lush, lazy, late-Summer Italy instead of chilly London.

[The Sparrow]

This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in a long while. Luca Guadgnino does an amazing job of telling Elio's story, his growing pains of being 17, his uncertainty but also his bravery. I love that it was filmed pretty much chronologically, and that the actors had three weeks 'hanging out' before shooting, which I think shows in the easy physicality running through all of the relationships; parental, romantic etc. In the book, we get everything from Elio's pov, but I love how we get definite moments from Oliver's as well, which Armie Hammer portrays really well.

I think the sex scenes were erotic without being overt, which this film wouldn't have benefited from, in my opinion. The moments between the main characters were tense and sensual without being titillating. Everything serves the story.

The last scene is reminiscent of Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday where we spend minutes just looking at his face, following his thought process. Guadagnino does something similar here and Timothée Chalamet pulls it off. I'd be surprised if he doesn't get an Oscar nomination. One to watch.

I also love Sufjan Stevens' score. There just such a lush story here, and Stuhlbarg's monologue at the end just underscores the beauty, joy and heartache of this story.

Really resonated with me, so very glad I'll get to see it a few more times on the big screen, where I can pretend I'm in lush, lazy, late-Summer Italy instead of chilly London.

I also loved the final scene with all the background noises. It was fascinating.

[kevinknapman]

Despite being high on my list of must see films, I reluctantly decided to skip Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name at the LFF due to my decision to try and avoid films due for release in the UK in October and November.

Luckily I only had to wait a couple of weeks after its first LFF screening to see it and it doesn't disappoint.

An achingly beautiful, often heart-breaking story of first love set during the summer of '83 in Northern Italy, as Elio, the precocious 17 year-old son of a professor falls for the 24 year-old visiting grad student Oliver.

Visually it's unsurprisingly striking, making the most of the Italian countryside. More surprisingly perhaps is the tender and heartfelt script, adapted from the novel by Andre Aciman, by James Ivory, one half of the quintessential costume drama filmmaking duo of Merchant Ivory. It's fair to say we've never seen fruit being used in his previous films the way it is here.

Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer are both exceptional, the former delivering an incredibly confident and emotional performance (he's also very good in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird).
Strong support too from Michael Stuhlbarg and Amira Casar as Elio's parents.

A great use of music as well with 'Love My Way' by The Psychedelic Furs especially prominent (complete with some memorable Armie Hammer dance moves) and two utterly gorgeous original Sufjan Stevens songs.

A worthy follow up to A Bigger Splash but much more emotionally resonant, Call Me By Your Name is easily one of the year's best. Don't miss it.

[D-Fens]

I entered knowing very little about this and somehow it was exactly what I thought it would be at the climax. Picturehouse particularly puts a lot of these peaches on so I'm not sure how patrons can rise at the end and patter "well I didn't see that coming".

It's not slow or dull it's just simple or uncomplicated. There are no twists or stunts, a long flat bike ride between Italian beauty spots is the main attraction. I've no idea how any of it was relevant, especially when I found it to be missing an initial spark but it was just fun living in that hazy atmosphere for a while.