Success of an adaptation is sure to become a romantic classic for the ages

Rating: 9/10 (24 January 2020)

Call Me by Your name is a beautiful cinematic experience that makes you feel as though you're not only watching a movie but that you're nearly immersed in a form of art work. The movie is an adaptation of the book written by Andre Aciman in 2007. Our story focuses on a teenage boy named Elio who begins to fall for Oliver, his father's intern who resides with them in for the summer.
From the soundtrack to the acting to the cinematography every element of Call Me By Your Name was carefully orchestrated to make the movie a captivating and emotional experience to do the book justice. Even from the very beginning of the movie, music and colour are used very evidently yet effortlessly to transport you into northern Italy in the 1980s, which makes the clear titling of the setting becomes more a means of clarification than a necessity. The characters also often speak in Italian and French which helps the movie feel more authentic and adds another exquisite element to the audio of the film. The filming is done as simplistically as possible without a lot of cuts, as the entire film was shot with a single 35mm lens. This was a brave choice on Luca Guadagnino's part but it paid off well in helping the audience feel more submersed in the time frame. There is even a scene where light bled into the film leaving sprocket holes and although it was an accident they left it in the movie for its real and ephemeral quality. Sufjan Stevens wrote two original songs for the movie which can be heard multiple times throughout and their beautiful somber sounds align well with the cinematography. Timothy Chalamett and Armie Hammer's acting for the film was superb, it's as though you can feel their chemistry and tension through the screen. Every aspect is clearly carefully orchestrated to bring Andre Aciman's story to life.
At the very end of the movie, when our beloved main character is left heartbroken, Timothy Chalamett is seen crying as the end titles role and it is a very beautiful and moving scene yet so simplistic. His acting during this scene is so intense and believable it allows the audience to understand what the character means to show and feel without saying a word. While he cries the fire crackles and one of Sufjan Stevens original songs play and all of the elements of this scene play together harmoniously to make the sorrowful ending unforgettable. This unresolved and heartbreaking end to the story is what makes it so great because it perfectly portrays that although it is a "love story" in the end the audience learns more about heartbreak than they do love, which sets it apart and gives it much more depth than most drama and romance films.
Call Me by Your Name is a must see movie filled with more passion, beauty, love, and heartbreak than one might think possible. This absolute success of an adaptation is sure to become a romantic classic for the ages.