Call Me by Your Name

One of 2017’s better love stories, this sumptuously filmed romance set in Italy is a thing of beauty to look at. Lush settings, stunning locations, and two admittedly quite adorable leads in Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet contribute to a sweet, and heartbreaking, story by Andre Aciman, who wrote the novel, with a screenplay by James Ivory. Chalamet plays Elio, an American living in Italy with his professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg). When father takes an assistant in the form of Oliver (Hammer), Elio is smitten, and so is the older Oliver. They wind up having a fling that carries deep meaning for them, and for those who know them. Chalamet, who was also terrific in 2017’s Lady Bird, makes Elio so much more than a confused teen in love; this guy is really in love in a way that will affect his entire life, and the viewer feels it. Hammer continues to evolve as an actor, and this is his best work yet. He also gets high scores for his stellar dance moves whenever somebody play the Psychedelic Furs. As good as the two leads are, my vote for best scene in the film goes to the underrated Stuhlbarg, who has a speech relating to his son that is an absolute showstopper. An overall sweet movie that features an end credit sequence that, well, just says it all.