“Call Me by Your Name” – I know I’m in the minority here, but I was thoroughly, stridently unimpressed with this film.
Yes, it is beautifully shot. The performances are great as well, but something about the film feels cold and detached, almost clinical in nature. The chemistry between Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet is palpable, but the film, save for a few scenes, always seems to be playing coy, to be pulling back from the romance at its center.
There are moments when this is not the case. Michael Stuhlbarg gives a monologue for the ages as the movie comes to a close. That monologue is the the most memorable thing about the film, and it comes after more than 120 minutes of screen time in which what could have been a very tender coming-of-age story takes a back seat to the scenery.
There is also a tonal inconsistency that sees the film veering back and forth between museum-piece pretension and “American Pie”-style raunch, particularly in one infamous scene involving a peach. That scene is meant to convey teen awkwardness and angst, and there is nothing wrong with it except that it exists surrounded by a film that couldn’t be more different.
All of this isn’t to say that this is an awful film. It has its moments, but it is far from the masterpiece some have described it as.
– Michael Olinger, Feb. 26, 2018
