As I wrote during TIFF, Call Me By Your Name is my favourite film of the year so far. It is one of the most exquisite films of the last few years. I don’t think I’ve haven’t told you enough how much I loved it, how I can’t wait for you to see it, so that we can talk about it, so that we can all virtually hug each other together because you want to keep it in your system, and share the feelings that it gives you to everyone else. Please know that I’ll be repeating this.
CMBYN first premiered at Sundance to great acclaim and predictions about Oscar. But that was even before the last Oscar cycle was over. And it’s a challenge to stay relevant when you come out of gate so early. The film was again very warmly received in Toronto. And now it’s being screened at the New York Film Festival. Ira Madison is a writer we quote often here on this site. Here’s Ira’s reaction after seeing it last week:
My review of CALL ME BY YOUR NAME pic.twitter.com/el0xpjkRU9
— Ira Madison III (@ira) September 28, 2017
It would seem then that the strategy worked. Call Me By Your Name is buzzing again, just at the right time, 6 weeks before it opens on November 24, around the time the awards race and the possible contenders will really start becoming more clear.
Here are director Luca Guadagnino, Armie Hammer, and the film’s breakout star (also my new crush), Timothee Chalamet, together in NY last night promoting the film. They know what this means. They all understand that the film could go all the way to Best Picture nomination. They’ve been waiting for this for over a year, but very seriously since January. And it’s still another almost six months of campaigning ahead. Right now they still look fresh, because there have been wide gaps in between their efforts. Once we get closer though, and they’ll have to be at it much more frequently, when the expectation starts to feel ever more real, I’m interested to see how they’ll deal with the pressures and the inevitable challenges and challengers.
But before all that, before all the jockeying and the positioning for Oscar, let me say again, just see the movie. I’m seeing it again as soon as it comes out. With Jacek. That’s how much this film has stayed with me, so much that I want to share it with everyone in my life.