Possibly this year's 'Moonlight'

Rating: 6/10 (26 February 2018)

Unfortunately when I say possibly this year's 'Moonlight' (last year's Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards) I don't necessarily mean it as a good thing. When I reviewed that film I described it as a "film about nothing". While I wouldn't go as far as to say the same about 'Call Me by Your Name', there are similarities in that sense. What is actually separating this from other love stories out there? Is it the homosexual element? Is it two straight actors playing homosexuals convincingly well (ala 'Brokeback Mountain' - another highly over-rated film in my opinion)? Are the movie-going public simply fascinated by this concept? I'm not sure, and while I'm certainly not calling 'Call Me by Your Name' a bad film, I don't think it was Best Picture nomination worthy.
I kept expecting more from the film. Around the 65 minute mark I actually had to get my phone out and check what the movie was supposed to be about, because nothing had happened as yet. The synopsis was vague to say the least and I hoped it was just holding back information for fear of spoilers. It wasn't. The film really is as simple and straight-forward as the plot line suggests. So what are we, the audience, supposed to grasp onto here? Well, put simply, we have to buy into the love story 100%. And to be honest I'm not sure I did. I've seen a lot of great love stories told in films over the years, and this one wouldn't rank in the top 100 I'm pretty sure.
If you break the film up into three parts, before the couple get together, during the time they've got together and then after they've gotten together, then I think the structuring needed to be different. Too long is spent on the first phase, not quite enough on the second phase and then far from enough on the final phase. The final phase was the chance to really drive things home and draw some emotion out of the audience. Even during the short time we get in that final 1/3 we get two tremendous scenes. One with a speech from the father and then the very final scene of the film. More of that and you would've had yourself a truly great film.
The actors do do a tremendous job and fully immerse themselves in their respective roles. The potential was certainly there for this to be something great, but it was just lacking in creativity on the writer's part. The story plays out far too straight-forward. A missed opportunity.