Great for the Wrong Reasons

Rating: 6/10 (5 December 2018)

Call me by your name is made out to be an amazing romantic/coming of age film. And while the film does deliver, it is in neither of those areas. The lead actors have little to no chemistry, and it is unclear they even have an attraction until it is explicitly stated by the characters. One could argue that the relatively large age gap between the two is responsible for and lack of chemistry, however several films have pulled off much more compelling stories with an even more significant difference in age. The film and actors attempt to create an unspoken, slow burn attraction between the two characters-which is always compelling- but fails to do so successfully. As a result, the minimal dialogue and other lack of interaction between Oliver and Elio becomes less a way to draw the audience into their romance and more a confusing choice that makes their relationship seem like an afterthought instead of the focal point of the story. With that being said, the film is beautifully shot, and does an amazing job of setting the scene of a 1983 Italian villa. The story of Elio on it's own is compelling, however mostly due to the supporting characters and the way the film portrays subtleties of being 17 and free for a summer. The father's monologue is written and delivered beautifully, and communicates a message so good it makes you wish it had been present in the film the whole time.