Elio is a teenage boy, living with his well-educated, wealthy Jewish family in Tuscany. His father is a professor, and Oliver, an academician in his thirties, has come to stay with Elio’s (Timothée Chalamet) family for a few months. It’s the 1980’s and Oliver (Armie Hammer) ends most every conversation by saying, “Later.” Something about Elio’s petulance towards Oliver has us wondering. Gradually, their mutual attraction emerges, but not without feints, misunderstandings and delays. There is a fair amount of warmth and sweetness before it becomes apparent that Oliver will return to America, and marry his girlfriend. Call Me By Your Name ends with Elio gazing into the Christmas fire with tears streaming down his cheeks.
I’m not sure there is much that distinguishes Call Me from other gay coming-of-age stories other than three details. Elio’s feelings for Oliver are treated with great respect. No one is alarmed by the inter-generational aspect of their affair. Elio’s dad speaks to him with great kindness and understanding, never once suggesting he has a problem with his son’s same-gender sexuality. In fact, this speech may be the best part of the film. Director Luca Guadagnino certainly makes the most of Italy’s sunny vistas, though oddly, a couple of two-shots featuring a kiss between Oliver and Elio are blurry. Perhaps an indication of Elio’s ambivalence?
I must admit I found it strange that a film evolved enough to show us the details of a teenage boy’s homoerotic awakening, found it necessary to play peekaboo with the lovemaking scenes. Speaking as one who has reviewed numerous GLBT films, after awhile you begin to wonder if so much would be concealed were Elio’s love interest were an older woman. You begin to wonder if the director is apologizing to a predominantly hetero-centrist audience. When you are dealing with a visual medium and we spend far more time with prelude than actual romance, when the sexuality (which after all, drives the film) is veiled in deep shadow, you suspect that Guadagnino is backing away from the content.
I suppose it’s never a good idea to attend a film expecting to see a breakthrough, though in some ways (see above) Call Me By Your Name is. Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain was also groundbreaking but neither is really exceptional in terms of visual style. That being said, there is a great deal of insight and warmth evinced in Call Me that we haven’t seen before. It’s worth your time, if only for its advanced sense of practical humanity.
Angelika Dallas: 5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, Dallas, TX, 75206. (214) 841-4712. www.angelikafilmcenter.com