This was the 80s!

Rating: 8/10 (12 July 2018)

I felt the need to write a review to clear up some of the nonsense said in some of the reviews here, mainly that the characters aren't real and that it's all very contrived.
This is a beautiful movie. It's just gorgeous; sure, it's a tad too long, but the story and the setting is just wonderful.
But don't be fooled, this is a story that quintessentially captures the essence of the 80s: fear!
If you're a millennial who has no experience of that time, where you are now free to love who you wish and the world is accepting of homosexuality, then welcome to a new and wonderful world. BUT it wasn't always this way. The 80s were a time when homosexuality was a dirty word, where gay culture was really in its infancy and there was a lot of fear.
Most people didn't even know an "out" gay person and gay people were mostly the subject of jokes and derision. Hell we didn't know about Freddy Mercury - that's how naive we were!
So this was the 80s, and WORSE, the EARLY 80s, so it's entirely understandable that Oliver is terrified about his secret coming out; it ruined careers and shattered lives back then.
Most men in the 80s lived bizarre double lives, and it's entirely true to form here. The men had families, wives, and were visiting public toilets to get their true desires fulfilled. This was how it was.
Ultimately, the relationship between Oliver and Elio is a fairy tale which only now could be made real.