Call Me by Your Name

Romantic Lombardy in the summer of 1983 provides the setting for this tale of desire, in which a confidently attractive 24-year-old US intern (Armie Hammer) dares the clever and talented teenage son of his multilingual host family to dive first into uncharted waters for a dalliance. The matter-of-fact gay eroticism that unfolds is subtly and wittily staged, though it's the choreography and playing out of the two males' undeclared foreplay that fuels the piece. In the role of the young virgin, Timothée Chalamet is engaging as the story's anchor, yet one couldn't imagine this love dream without Hammer's presence. The film is based on the 2007 debut novel by André Aciman and is scripted by the seasoned James Ivory, with Italian director Luca Guadagnino eschewing a Merchant Ivory approach in favour of something more punchy. But it scores as a rather serious confection.