An escapist fantasy

Rating: 4/10 (31 August 2017)

Of course all gay men have been there. You spend your summer holiday on your father's estate, meets gorgeous young man, fall in love... Call Me By Your Name is a well executed movie which is actually nothing more than an escapist gay fantasy. Long before gay-themed movies and books became mainstream, stories like this one were abundant in LGBT periodicals. Of course this story (like practically any other story) has already been told. The very first example which comes to my mind is Brokeback Mountain. The recently released BBC produced mini-series Man In An Orange Shirt is also worth mentioning. Elio is handsome and young, his father is rich and owns a luxurious villa in Europe. When spending his summer holidays on his father's estate Elio meets Oliver who is also handsome and young and just happens to be gay. The guys spend a lot of time together, swimming, bicycling and visiting neighboring cities. Eventually they have sex. But wait! The story is set in the early 1980-s. So, they can not be together. And their lives take them in different directions. The end. I have no idea if gay man who will watch this movie (and they definitely will watch it because Armie Hammer playing Oliver is very hot even from my straight point of view) will be able to relate to these characters and their story. After all as I said it is a well executed escapist gay themed fantasy. Watchable but not memorable.