Call Me by Your Name (2017)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Luca Guadagnino's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Luca Guadagnino originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Call Me by Your Name is a 2017 romantic coming-of-age drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino, based on André Aciman's 2007 novel. The film follows Elio Perlman, a precocious 17-year-old played by Timothée Chalamet, who spends the summer of 1983 at his family's villa in northern Italy where his father, a professor of Greco-Roman culture played by Michael Stuhlbarg, hosts a graduate student each year. When 24-year-old American scholar Oliver, played by Armie Hammer, arrives, a tentative, intensely charged romance develops between him and Elio over the course of the sun-drenched Italian summer.
Timothée Chalamet's performance was a revelation that launched one of the most significant acting careers of his generation — his portrayal of Elio's awakening desire, intellectual precociousness, and devastating vulnerability earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor at just 22 years old, making him one of the youngest Best Actor nominees in history. Luca Guadagnino's direction emphasized sensory immersion — the Italian landscape, the warmth of summer light, the textures of food and skin and ancient stone — creating an almost tactile film experience. Michael Stuhlbarg's climactic monologue to his son, urging him to embrace rather than suppress his heartbreak because "our bodies and our hearts are given to us only once," was one of the most emotionally powerful scenes of the year.
Sufjan Stevens contributed two original songs to the soundtrack, including the nominated "Mystery of Love." The film earned $41 million worldwide on a $3.5 million budget and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
