Call Me By Your Name

A couple of weeks back I had made this post (below) on Instagram with the full intention of putting my thoughts into words right after:

So have I found the right words yet?

No.

But I had a dream (!!) and it was based on the characters of this book and it was the most incredible scene that my mind was capable of conjuring up. Plus I woke up to the most wonderful news of Timothèe Chalamet (who plays Elio in the movie) getting nominated for Academy Awards for his role as well as the movie being nominated for best picture. So I'm thinking, if this isn't a "sign" for me to write about this then I don't know what is!

It was probably the indomitable chemistry between the two lead actors in some interview that got me hooked to this story. I was still unaware of the magic that I was missing out on but I could sense it's presence. And thank god I did because my life would have been a little less meaningful otherwise!

It is essentially a story about a 17 year old boy's first love and it's subsequent heartbreak set in a small town in Italy called Crema in the 1980s. If you think that's a spoiler then you should look into the first chapter of the book:-

Anyway, plotwise, quite a clichè until you start to resonate with it. There are these tiny incidents in the story that open up some floodgates in your heart that you didn't even know were there in the first place! Okay, I'll give you an example:

There is a scene where Elio (the 17 year old boy) and Oliver (the 24 year old reasearch assistant of Elio's father from America) explore Elio's favourite spot in the town and Oliver tells him that he likes the way Elio talks but doesn't get it why he puts himself down like that to which Elio responds, "So that you won't.."....

If you're are introvert with low self-esteem then you'll probably understand why this hits the spot. I mean we all do that, right? We make fun of ourselves and put ourselves in low light even when we don't mean to, all under the pretext of cool and apathetic demeanor while subtextually hankering for validation. It's so brutal to acknowledge that even our sub-conscious wrecks the thought from formulating. And for Elio to just spit it out in only 4 words?
I could never make myself that vulnerable, not even at 17. That is probably why I'm as shook as I am. Just me?
I guess sometimes we just want someone to think our thoughts for us. Because lord knows it's tiresome to think of the correct words and do the correct permuations and combinations to bring out the correct meaning behind the feelings that our hearts feel. A lot get lost between our feelings and our thoughts about those feelings. That sure as hell gives me anxiety. The path from the heart to the brain is not a short one and is nothing less than a labyrinth and I get lost in it more than I'd like. Again, just me? okay!

There are a few differences between the book and movie (especially the ending) but it is one of the more accurate adaptatons of a novel for sure. So I would (heavily) recommend both and if you are not into reading then you can listen to the audiobook which is narrated by Armie Hammer (the guy who plays Oliver), and trust me, you would want to listen to this! 
As for the movie, you have to watch it, that's all I can say. It's all in there. Luca Guadagnino (the director of the film) has served all the feels in a platter for you to feed on. 

Bon Appètit!


P.s. - Here's the YouTube link for the audiobook and an article by the author, Andrè Aciman, in Vanity Fair on his thoughts on the movie; just in case you are interested...