Romantic film 'Call Me by Your Name' is too determinedly soothing
Set in 1983 in the sun-dappled northern Italian countryside, 鈥淐all Me by Your Name鈥� is nothing if not languorous. Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by James Ivory based on the 2007 novel by Andr茅 Aciman, it鈥檚 about the initially tentative but inexorably passionate romance between 17-year-old Elio (Timoth茅e Chalamet), who is spending the summer with his parents in their 17th-century villa, and 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer), a grad student who has arrived for a summer internship with Elio鈥檚 father (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor of Greco-Roman antiquities.
As was also true of Guadagnino鈥檚 earlier movies, 鈥淚 am Love鈥� and 鈥淎 Bigger Splash,鈥� the sensuous atmosphere often preempts the drama. Neither Elio nor (especially) Oliver are quite rich enough as characters to outshine their surroundings, and, although it鈥檚 rare to see a movie of this sort that is so markedly nonjudgmental, the lack of sharp conflict doesn鈥檛 make for a terribly invigorating experience. Although it ends on a powerful, bittersweet chord, the movie is a bit too determinedly soothing for comfort. Grade: B (Rated R for sexual content, nudity, and some language.)聽 聽聽
