By Spencer Coile
;)
After it dazzled audiences and critics alike at this year's Sundance Film Festival, it is not altogether baffling that Call Me By Your Name, the latest entry from I Am Love and A Bigger Splash director Luca Guadagnino was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics before it even premiered at the festival. And for those eagerly awaiting Guadagnino's latest cinematic concoction, our countdown commences: the film's limited release date is scheduled for November 24, 2017, or Thanksgiving weekend.
Adapted from André Aciman's 2007 book of the same name, Call Me by Your Name tells the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a seventeen year-old boy expecting another boring summer along the Italian Riviera with his parents. However, he is in for quite a surprise when his professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg) invites to their villa Oliver (Armie Hammer), a twenty-four year-old academic from the United States. Mild flirtation slowly turns to intimacy as the two find themsevles embarking on a blossoming summer romance.
With early reviews touting it as a "masterful," "revolutionary," and "transcendent" love story, it should come as no shock that Guadagnino's newest effort would be afforded a prime release date for the upcoming awards season. Considering that Manchester by the Sea followed a very similar trajectory-- raves from Sundance to late-year release to major Oscar player, it is likely that Sony Pictures is already developing Call Me by Your Name's inevitable Oscar campaign.
;)
I might forgive you for Mirror Mirror after all, Armie
Could Call Me by Your Name possibly join the ranks of classics of contemporary queer cinema-- those still celebrated and discussed today? Between Carol and Moonlight, it's been a pretty stellar track record these past couple of years. Only time will tell. But as we start prepping for the upcoming awards season (already!), I propose we all watch this clip from the film (wherein Elio and Oliver meet), pick up Aciman's novel, and start the book club to hold us over.
With only 260 days left, there's no time to lose!