Mystery of Love

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2018)

At present I have rated 827 feature films on IMDb, but not once have I left a review. I'm not a writer. However, Call Me by Your Name left me with a feeling so powerful that I simply had to put into words. Here goes...
James Ivory's Oscar winning screenplay follows seventeen-year-old Elio and his father's twenty-something-year-old assistant, Oliver as they fall in love over the summer of 1983 in Northern Italy. It's a coming-of-age love story centered around Elio and Oliver's deep connection and the consequences of embracing their desires. Luca Guadagnino directs with Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer as the two leading men in this masterpiece of modern cinema.
The film is beautifully shot and expertly directed whilst also featuring some truly incredible performances. Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet were both simply outstanding. Their awkward chemistry perfectly compliments the slow developing relationship between Elio and Oliver in the film. Initially, I struggled to see them together, but by the end I couldn't imagine them apart.
Call Me by Your Name's most powerful moment comes during the film's conclusion in the form of a three and a half minute shot of Elio by the fire. As Sufjan Stevens' 'Visions of Gideon' plays, Elio experiences a myriad of emotions in what is one of the most moving scenes I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. Everyone remembers the first time they had their heart broken. You stop and feel every emotion with Elio as the world around him carries on. Timothée Chalamet, I have no words.
As the credits rolled I couldn't help but wonder how long it will be until something beautiful arrives on our screens again.