A beautifully told and often poignant story of forbidden love

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2018)

Call Me By Your Name is a drama film starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Andrè Aciman, it is a beautifully told and often poignant story of forbidden love.
In 1983, a young man named Elio (Timothée Chalamet) lives near a countryside town in Italy with his parents. One day, Elio's archaeologist father invites an American graduate student named Oliver (Armie Hammer) to stay with them over the course of the summertime to help out with his paperwork. During Oliver's six week stay, he and Elio bond over their mutual Jewish heritage and their emerging feelings for one another.
Touching and melancholic, Call Me By Your Name never feels pretentious or forced in its showcase of love and romance and it leaves a powerful impression on the viewer right up to the end credits. Both Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet have great on-screen chemistry and director Luca Guadagnino does a superb job in showing their growing relationship throughout the course of the story. The film's cinematography is fantastic. We are often shown the glorious open Italian landscape, which serves as a great setting for some of the film's more dramatic moments. The soundtrack, which includes songs from musician Sufjan Stevens, is worth noting as well. Stevens' lyrics about personal longing and coming-of-age suit the film's tone perfectly and help project the viewer into the mindset of its two lead characters.
I rate it 8.5/10