This is a very hard review for me to write as I am a pushover, a sucker, an incurable romantic for love stories especially one that may be about a gay couple so I was looking forward to “Call Me by Your Name”. I’ve read nothing but raves about the film when in film festivals and it has been nominated for the Golden Globe and sure to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Film.

The acting, as reported, is very good with a few minor quibbles but that mainly has to do with the story, the scenery in Northern Italy is at times breathtaking and at other times quiet, serene while the musical soundtrack at times can be jarring here and there.

While there is good chemistry between Armie Hammer, playing 24-year-old Oliver, and Timothee Chalamet as 17-year-old Elio the much-needed passion that is written and hinted about isn’t there in the writing. The former has been hired as a summer intern to the latter’s father, an archaeology professor, Mr. Perlman played by Michael Stuhlbarg.

While the main story is about Elio, a very well rounded educated, piano playing, multilingual youngster, coming of age that is experiencing sexual confusion, Oliver is the very handsome, sexy, sexual, amiable stranger who Elio is attracted to.

The main failure of the movie, surprisingly enough, is James Ivory who has written and directed movies that showed sexiness and sex in more rounded, physical, explicit and meaningfulness, such as “Maurice”, than in the screenplay he has written for this film. To a certain extent he is aided and abetted by the director Luca Guadannino.

In a 131 minute film there are, maybe, about 30 moving minutes, one that is funny involving a peach, another of Timothee Chalamant in a silent, moving, several minutes in length headshot and one startling, emotionally involving monologue by Michael Stuhlbarg along with maybe 30 minutes of scenery.

“Call Me by Your Name” is rated R for some hinted at sex, some language and except for Stuhlbarg’s moving, brilliant monologue it was mainly a big disappointment to me.

Movie trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAYeaXFb9w4