Line #43 Film/CallMeByYourName


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/call_me_by_your_name.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Is it better to speak or to die?"'']]
3
4	->'''Oliver''': You know more than anyone around here.\
5	'''Elio''': If you only knew how little I know about the things that really matter.
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7	''Call Me By Your Name'' is a 2017 [[ComingOfAgeStory coming-of-age]] romantic drama film directed by Creator/LucaGuadagnino and written by [[Creator/MerchantIvory James Ivory]], [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on]] [[Literature/CallMeByYourName the novel of the same name]] by André Aciman. The film is the final installment in Guadagnino's [[ThematicSeries thematic]] ''Desire'' trilogy, following ''I Am Love'' and ''A Bigger Splash''.
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9	Set in Northern UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} during the summer of [[UsefulNotes/TheEighties 1983]], Elio Perlman (Creator/TimotheeChalamet) is a 17-year-old boy expecting to spend another summer idly reading, transcribing and playing music, hanging out with childhood friends, and hosting an unknown American graduate student coming to work with his professor father (Creator/MichaelStuhlbarg).
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11	The student turns out to be Oliver (Creator/ArmieHammer), an attractive 24-year-old who shares Elio's Jewish heritage. While he is initially put off by Oliver's demeanor, and Oliver feels likewise about him, the two find that their first impressions mask a deep mutual bond. As they explore their connection against the backdrops of the [[SceneryPorn sun-drenched Italian scenery]], Elio and Oliver learn more about themselves and each other as their awakening desire builds and takes form.
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13	Development on the film began in 2007, when the rights to Aciman's novel were optioned; between then and the film's release, Ivory stepped down as co-director, and Guadagnino became the director after originally joining the production as a location scout. Guadagnino also curated the film's soundtrack, which features two original songs by Music/SufjanStevens ("Mystery of Love" and "Visions of Gideon") as well as a remix of an already-released song of his, [[Music/TheAgeOfAdz "Futile Devices"]].
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15	%%After the release of the film, [[http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/director-luca-guadagnino-talks-call-me-by-your-name-sequels.html Guadagnino discussed his plans for an overall series of five films]] that continue Elio's story into adulthood, which would cover topics like the [[TragicAIDSStory AIDS Crisis]], the fall of the UsefulNotes/BerlinWall, [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheUSSR the dissolution of the USSR]], [[UsefulNotes/RepublicanItaly Silvio Berlusconi's rise to power]], and UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar. %%Not officially announced yet.
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17	!! ''Call Me By Your Name'' contains examples of the following tropes:
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19	* TheEighties: The film is set in the summer of 1983. Booty shorts, pastel shirts and 80s music abound, as well as certain forms of technology that were prevalent. Notably, The Psychedelic Furs' classic 1982 single [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiiCBcHAoE8 "Love My Way"]] serves as a kind of "arc theme".
20	* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: The film ends much earlier and slightly differently from the book, with [[spoiler:Elio still a teenager, reflecting on their relationship]]. Aciman himself has stated that he prefers the film's ending.
21	%%* AdaptationExpansion: Guadagnino said he intends to continue Elio's story in further sequels, in a way similar to Creator/RichardLinklater's ''Film/{{Before\|Sunrise}}'' trilogy or the ''Series/{{Up}}'' {{documentary}} series. A hypothetical second installment would be shot and released by 2020, so that Timothée Chalamet [[RealTime would be the same age as Elio in the film's timeline]].
22	* AdaptationalHeroism: Let's just say Elio is a more complex character in the book. Though he is still likable, he's petulant, less innocent, his stalking of Oliver is more aggressive, and rather than [[spoiler:ending as he does in the film, heroically embracing his pain, he never gets over Oliver and stews about it for years.]]
23	* AdaptationalMundanity: The film is still an art film, but it has a far more realistic feel than the book, which veers into the fantastical at times with far heavier symbolism and long meditations on the nature of time. Vimini, for example, was probably cut from the film because her character fits in with symbolism in the book that isn't really present in the film.
24	* AdaptedOut: Vimini doesn't appear in the film despite appearing often in Elio's memories of his time in Italy.
25	* AgeGapRomance: Downplayed in that there's only a seven-year difference between them, but visually, Oliver looks ''much'' older than Elio, played by the youthful Timothée Chalamet, despite him and Armie Hammer being only a few years older than their characters. This wasn't helped by promotional materials and critics both describing Elio as, alternatively, a child or an adolescent.
26	* AlmostHoldingHands: When Elio and Oliver walk from the shop to the alley, there is a shot of their fingers slightly entwined without actually grasping hands, in deference to the discretion they had to live under.
27	* AmbiguouslyBi: There are a few hints that Elio's father might be bisexual, namely [[spoiler:his claim towards the end that he "came close" to having what Elio and Oliver had.]]
28	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Elio is devastated after Oliver has to leave at the end of the summer, but his father encourages him to learn from his grief and recognize its magnitude as a testament to how powerful what he had with Oliver was. Oliver calls back in the winter to let Elio's family know that he's gotten engaged to a woman, and Elio's visibly crushed to hear it. Barring the ambiguity of whether Oliver truly loves his fiancée or [[TheBeard is using her to pass as straight]], he at the very least calls Elio by his name and admits that he still "[remembers] everything" about the time they spent together. The final note of the film is still a sad one, however, as we watch Elio silently cry in front of a fireplace, essentially mourning his relationship and recognizing that he can never be reunited with his other half.]]
29	* Bittersweet17: In his seventeenth year, Elio falls in love with a man 7 years his senior. Although he acts fairly mature, he is sometimes treated like a child, like when Mafalda argues with him about going out.
30	%%* BourgeoisBohemian: Elio's family.
31	* CatchPhrase: Oliver always steps out of conversations with a casual "Later!" By the end of the film, Elio's parents are aware of it [[LampshadeHanging and say it back to him as a joke]].
32	* ChewingTheScenery: The married, motor-mouthed Italian couple who the Perlmans have over for lunch.
33	* CloseOnTitle: The move name appears first at the start of the closing credits.
34	* ClosetKey: Elio was attracted to men in the past, but doesn't come to terms with his attraction to them until Oliver.
35	* CreatorCameo: André Aciman, who wrote the novel this film is based on, appears in a cameo role as one of the two gay gentlemen.
36	%%* DisposableLoveInterest: Marzia to Elio.
37	* EroticEating: The infamous peach scene. Elio [[spoiler:masturbates with a peach and ejaculates inside it, which Oliver later offers to eat.]]
38	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The scene with Oliver musing about the origin of the word "apricot" is there to validate him as an academic.
39	* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Elio muses on how Oliver isn't the first intern to develop a crush on him, and more than one male stranger has propositioned him.
40	* FirstLove: Oliver is Elio's first love, and it shakes him to the core. Though Oliver has loved others before Elio, the feeling is no less mutual.
41	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Mr. Perlman shows appreciation for the buff statues that he studies, and is particularly sensitive to Elio calling the visiting gay couple "Sonny and Cher". This seems to foreshadow how, when [[spoiler:encouraging Elio's feelings for Oliver, he implies that he was in a similar situation when he was in Elio's age, and thus is also attracted to men.]]
42	* {{Gayngst}}: Oliver mentions that his mixed signals are because of an extremely homophobic father.
43	* GoodParents: Elio genuinely loves his parents, who are caring and let him grow in his own way. [[spoiler:Mr. Perlman even realizes the love between Elio and Oliver and encourages it.]]
44	* GratuitousFrench: The cast is primarily French and speaks it amongst themselves in the film. Elio will speak French to Marzia and then go outside and switch to Italian.
45	* GratuitousItalian: Set in Italy, they also speak Italian fluently and sometimes switch languages mid-sentence.
46	* GratuitousGerman: Elio's mother ''translates German poetry to him'' on one occasion, so this film is basically polyglot pornography.
47	* IKissYourFoot: After Elio gets a bloody nose, Oliver gives him a secret foot massage and kisses his foot.
48	* LastMomentTogether: At the end of, Elio says goodbye to Oliver, the American grad student that he fell in love with while Oliver was staying over for the summer. He escorts Oliver to the train as part of Oliver's trip back, then is crushed by the weight of his certainty that he'll never see Oliver again. In the film's last minutes, some time later, Oliver calls Elio and family... to tell them that he's getting married to an on-again, off-again girlfriend he dated in college, making it very likely that saying goodbye at the train station will be the last time the two men ever see each other. The end of the film is Elio silently crying by himself while everyone else around him goes about their lives.
49	* LeaveTheCameraRunning: The final shot of the film, which holds for several minutes and takes up a majority of the credits: [[spoiler:Elio silently crying in front of a fire, reminiscing the time he spent with Oliver.]]
50	* LoverAndBeloved: Along with the seven-year age difference between them, Oliver's academic status makes his relationship with the teenage Elio a modern example of this.
51	* MaleGaze: As the audience is seeing things through Elio's perspective, there are many shots lingering over Oliver's body appreciatively.
52	* NoAntagonist: There are lots of conflicts and angst, but no real "bad guy."
53	* NoBisexuals: Despite both lead male characters Elio and Oliver being romantically involved with separate women along with each other, the media painted the film as a "gay love story".
54	* NoPeekingRequest: When Marzia and Elio go swimming in the river, she tells him to turn his back while she undresses.
55	* TheOner: The scene in the town square where Eliot is [[LoveConfession confessing his love to Oliver]] is an uninterrupted shot of four-and-a-half minutes.
56	* OpenMindedParent: Mr. Perlman, who [[spoiler:encourages Elio's feelings for Oliver, hinting that he, too, is attracted to men.]]
57	* OperationJealousy: Elio often tries to make Oliver jealous, particularly by being in a relationship with Marzia, but Oliver reacts coldly to it and considers it childish.
58	* PervertedSniffing: Elio sniffing Oliver's worn shorts, even pulling them over his head.
59	* PopStarComposer: Indie musician Music/SufjanStevens wrote original songs for the movie.
60	* PrefersGoingBarefoot: Elio likes to be barefoot, wherever possible.
61	* QueerRomance: The two romantic leads are bisexual men and have a brief relationship which is the focus of the film.
62	%%* RedOniBlueOni: Elio is the blue to Oliver's red. - ZCE
63	* RambunctiousItalian: The Italian couple the family is having over when Elio gets his nose bleed.
64	* RightThroughHisPants: When Elio makes love to Marzia on the grass, he still has his pants on.
65	* SafetyInIndifference: Discussed. Elio's father warns him that if he starts closing off his heart, every failed relationship will make it harder to fully engage in the next one.
66	* SceneryPorn: The novel's lush, detailed descriptions of the Italian Riviera come to life with the gorgeous cinematography used in the film.
67	* SecretTest: Apparently, each year Elio's father tests the graduate students coming to his house with the same factually wrong claim about the etymology of "apricot". Oliver [[EstablishingCharacterMoment passes with flying colors]].
68	* SexyDiscretionShot: When Elio and Oliver sleep together for the first time, the camera pans away to the open window; elsewhere, the film cuts away just as Elio's about to go down on Marzia. This was a deliberate move on Guadagnino's part, as he was uninterested in capturing the film's romance through explicit sexual depictions.
69	* ShipperOnDeck:
70	** [[spoiler:Mr. Perlman after the fact. He hints to Elio about knowing about their relationship and tacitly encourages Elio to treasure the time they had together]].
71	** Also Elio, while in denial of his feelings towards Oliver, tries to pair him with Chiara.
72	* SilentCredits: There is no soundtrack after the screen goes black during the end credits.
73	* SingleTargetSexuality: Downplayed; Elio has some attraction to people who aren't Oliver, but his passion is still solely reserved for him. [[spoiler:In the book, he never really moves on from it, even decades later.]]
74	* SpeedSex: Elio comes prematurely when making love to Marzia.
75	* TheStoic: [[spoiler:Elio tries to feel nothing when Oliver announces his engagement, and attempts to move on too quickly from his first love. Mr. Perlman gives him a speech urging him to avoid this mentality and instead embrace the heartbreak.]]
76	* SummerRomance: Elio has a relationship with Oliver, who's working with his academic father, in the summer of 1983. It comes to a halt when [[spoiler:Oliver gets engaged to a woman in fall or winter.]]
77	* ThematicSeries: This film is considered the third of Guadagnino's "Desire" trilogy, alongside ''I Am Love'' and ''A Bigger Splash''.
78	* TitleDrop: "Call me by your name, and I'll call you by mine."
79	* TrainStationGoodbye: Elio sees Oliver off at a train station.
80	* {{Tsundere}}: When Elio starts to feel attraction for Oliver, he behaves rather antagonistically, making fun of the way he says "[[WildcardExcuse Later!]]" and refusing to play Oliver's song request.
81	* TwiceShy: Elio belatedly realizes that Oliver's hostile looks toward him weren't actually hostile at all, and it was merely a shy person's way of holding a gaze. He then comments on how they must be the two shyest people on the planet. It comes back to bite them when they consummate their passions too late to develop a full relationship.
82	* UptightLovesWild: Shy, reserved Elio falls for the outspoken, carefree Oliver.
83	* VomitIndiscretionShot: Eliot is vomiting on-screen during the night-time scene at Bergamo.
84	* WiseBeyondHisYears: Oliver sees Elio this way. "Is there anything you don't know?"
85	----

Context Film / CallMeByYourName