As the days pass though, Elio can't get this...feeling out of his head regarding Oliver. Their constant time together has made them sometimes antagonistic to each other sure, but Oliver just can't seem to shake these passionate feelings for Oliver. Though Italian societies distaste for openly gay couples precludes them from talking about it openly, Oliver and Elio begin to realize they share romantic feelings for one another, a realization that leads to the best parts of Call Me By Your Name by far in wistful romantic sequences that feel like something out of a dream. Here we get to see Elio and Oliver romp around in a wonderland built upon an idyllic human connection.
Prior to that, Call Me By Your Name is all about being as subdued as possible in order to achieve the dual goal of emphasizing the mundane nature of Elio's life prior to engaging in a romance with Oliver as well as demonstrate how much of a secret these two must keep their sexuality from an unaccepting society. Jame Ivory's writing finds clever ways for the pair to talk about their infatuations without ever explicitly detailing those infatuations out loud. It's all in between the lines here and those sort of dialogue exchanges, where so much is said amidst so few words, are extremely well-done and handled with tact by both Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer.
For me personally, though, the overly muted nature of the first half-ish of the movie had some notable drawbacks. There's a tendency in Call Me By Your Name for the story to take on a non-engaging form of subdued storytelling. While being far from omnipresent, it does create enough of a barrier between the viewer and the task of becoming emerged in these characters & their plight that I found it troubling. Speaking of trouble, though the age of consent in Italy is 16 years of age, the age difference between the lead characters is also something that took time for me to adjust to and I hesitate to even bring this gripe up at all because it's already being used by people who want to discredit this project as part of an overall homophobic agenda. But early unintentional heavy emphasis on the fact that 31-year-old Armie Hammer looks so much like a 31-year-old man (his character is supposed to be 24) in comparison to his super young looking leading man (who, it should be noted, was well over 20 years old when Call Me by Your Name was filming) did make it hard for me to groove on the crucial romance that the younger Elio initiates.
Those kind of problems are what made Call Me By Your Name a difficult nut to crack at first, but the performances and photography were still strong to hold my interest. Then Elio and Oliver, about halfway through the movie, finally jump into their romance and the movie finally really comes alive. A restrained atmosphere gives way to bursts of on-screen passion that are oh so rich to watch. In a world (one both the characters and the audience have become familiar with during the prior portion of the movie) that refuses to accept their sexuality, Elio and Oliver have found salvation in one another and Call Me By Your Name does wonderful things with translating that experience into movie form, especially in the original music created by Sufjan Stevens which creates a wistful atmosphere that's incredibly intoxicating.
The two lead actors also really come alive in this second half of the film, especially Armie Hammer, who develops a feisty teasing personality in his interactions with Elio that results in two of the movies biggest laughs. For his part, Chalamet really comes into his own as a leading man, handling the complex internally conflicted nature of all teenagers in a thoughtful fashion and he's especially good as a physical performer, whether that's in saying a lot in small body movements or delivering amusing dance moves. Also excelling late into the movie is Michael Stuhlbarg, who provides an entertaining supporting presence as Elio's father for much of the feature before delivering an emotional gut-punch of a monologue in one of Call Me By Your Name's final scenes. It's some of Stuhlbarg's best work as an actor and that's saying something considering what a remarkable career he's had.
All of these actors are framed within camerawork that paints the various locales Elio and Oliver inhabit as postcard-ready visions of 1980's Italy. I was left wishing some of the environments had more realistic imperfections to them since it sometimes feels like the film is a little too glossy looking but there's no denying the photography here is mostly a feast for the eyes while (at the risk of sounding too cutesy) the best moments of the romance between the two leads provides a feast for the heart. I left Call Me By Your Name wishing it was more consistent quality-wise in certain aspects, namely pacing, (that previously mentioned intentionally slow first half didn't entirely work for me) but I also found myself thoroughly impressed with other aspects of Call Me By Your Name, namely just how well it executes a tale of romance with such a palpably wistful to it. You can feel the joy Elio and Oliver having someone to confide their true selves in while also fully sensing their internal gloom over knowing this romance can never last forever.
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