A dull, static gay romance with little else

Rating: 3/10 (28 January 2018)

Maybe it's more of an indicator of what I enjoy in movies, but Call Me By Your Name was at no point fun to watch for me. I didn't find any of the characters to truly develop - you could argue Oliver develops, but I think it's just him becoming comfortable and getting to know Elio. Elio I'm sure many would argue also develops, but I think his actions and words are reactions to what happens, and he is an insecure, uncertain young man looking for love throughout, and who he is doesn't change at all in my opinion. Frankly, very little happens in the movie - it's all just seeing the development of their relationship, which was generic and boring in them becoming familiar with each other and falling in love for no discernible reason. Hardly anything beyond their relationship was offered up to consider, with Elio's girlfriend being the only other relevant storyline. While she added to the film, it didn't fundamentally change the film and felt more like a minor detail to show Elio become more confident as a gay man as the film progressed - not dynamic, just a plot device. Contrary to many, I didn't find the performances of Chalamet or Hammer to be of note, and I thought the writing was very inconsistent, though the monologue by Stuhlbarg at the end was excellent. A satisfactory ending and good score and cinematography prevent it from being an outright bad movie, but it was nothing more than a boring, plodding romance to me.