Absolutely wonderful

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2020)

This is a film that immediately got me interested in a) Luca Guadagnino's other works, and b) the original source novel. It impresses on every level.
More than anyone else, Guadagnino has a perfect grasp on appeal to the human senses. Just because of the sound design, this world was immediately immersive, believable and realistic.
One thing that immediately sets this film apart is that it is essentially plotless. It has a well-defined structure for sure, but really the whole story is just about how these two people discover themselves and build a relationship. This in turn helps avoid so many of the gay romance tropes that have come to annoy me incessantly; no "angry parents walking in", no "OMG GET AWAY FROM ME FAGGOT" at school, no "we're just friends, I'm not gay!".
I won't reveal how this film ends. Even if I did, I don't even know if I would call it a spoiler. It is incredibly sobering and is a hard dose of reality; no overly contrived turn of events waiting for you at the end.
My only complaint with this film is that there could have been less time spent on Elio's girlfriend and more on Oliver. At times, it felt like the screentime delegated to Marzie somewhat detracted from the main relationship.