Movie Title: Call Me By Your Name
First Watch / Repeat Viewing
Running Time: 2 hr. and 12 min.
Rated: R
Who did I watch with?: Flying Solo
Where did I watch it?: Regal Stadium 12 / Swansea, MA
Review:
Call Me by Your Name is a strange movie because it barely has any conflict. Elio (Timothee Chalamet) is the son of an Italian history professor played well by Michael Stuhlbarg. His father takes in a research assistant every summer. During the summer of 1983 he decides on a handsome man named Oliver (Armie Hammer) to assist him with his research.
The movie proceeds to meander through the beautiful Italian landscape and small intimate moments for its entire running time. It is a very well made movie. The cinematography is beautiful, the house is beautiful, Northern Italy is beautiful. It hits all the angles of daily life. However, all of Elio’s conflict is internal and at times it isn’t very interesting to watch. Is he in love with Marzia, a girl his age, or is he in love with Oliver, a significantly older man? How much do others know about his sexual desires? How much do I even care? Eventually, Elio learns some things about himself during a summer of passion and love that is at times sweet, but mostly disconcerting and strange.
Verdict:
From a technical point of view it is excellent. From a story telling point of view it is a decent coming of age story that is heavily dependent on its visuals. On the whole I liked it, but I could not recommend it to everyone. See it if you are interested in a slow paced, beautiful, character drama. Skip it otherwise.
Tomorrow’s Movie: The Thing (2011)
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Today’s Run:
Time: 12:48
Distance: 1 mile
A little bit better time today. I ran this morning to avoid the weather. It was a nice snow day because we didn’t get hardly anything at my house, but where my school is got enough to cancel. Back to the paces tomorrow.
