“However, I found most of the characters to be overly intellectual in a rather annoying and not very plausible way.”
Ha! I actually know people like them. Annoying, yes, but definitely plausible.
I also know 24 year olds that look as old as Armie Hammer. Many young men that age look very masculine. It’s not unusual. The movie did pick a 24 year old that looked older than average and a 17 year old that looked younger than average, though.
“I also felt that Armie Hammer was poorly cast; first because he looked more like a preppy stockbroker in shorts than a graduate student in classics.”
I didn’t find that an issue for me probably because all the classics students I personally know ARE prep school grads and some have stockbroker/investment parents. In my world, the greek/latin majors definitely come from a certain set and Armie’s character would have fit right in.
I liked the movie and am glad I watched it although I thought it was a little overhyped and wouldn’t have got my vote for a Best Picture Oscar. It wasn’t in my top 3 of the Best Picture nominees.
@doschicos I like hearing your perspective! You critiqued my critique. So, were you not at all uncomfortable with the age difference? What did you think about the omission of any exploration of Elio’s thoughts about his same-sex attraction?
@IBviolamom , I just watched it this weekend, too. Your critique resonates with me. You described a source of my vague unease … the way Oliver looked, like a big preppy stallion, and the lack of back story/inner dialogue on his or Elio’s sexuality.
I didn’t mind, and was amused by, the intellectualism, though. The scene about the etymology of apricot was wonderful, I thought!
The sheer gorgeousness of Timothée Chalamet, the interior of the villa (especially upstairs where the guys’ rooms were), and the landscape carried me through. And I was brought to tears by the dad’s prescient and sensitive talk with Elio at the end, and Elio’s face with tears.
I saw the film in the theaters, over Xmas break with one of my college-aged daughters. We both liked it a lot, and had no particular objections to the storyline or characters or actors, etc.
I thought the film had a foreign film feel. Slow, languid, not a typical American film story arc and so in that sense, I think I can understand some of the criticism of the film. It’s definitely not for everyone.
Yes, it had a foreign film feel to me too. It would have even without the subtitled parts when characters spoke Italian or French. I loved that they did that by the way because it was so authentic.
Boy, maybe I liked this movie more than I first thought.
@IBviolamom Regarding the age difference - not too much discomfort. People close to me have had relationships with others more than a couple years older back in young adult years (and are unscathed - I don’t view the relationships as unhealthy) so perhaps I am influenced by that. I heard critiques about the age difference thing many times before seeing the movie so I was definitely cognizant of that fact while watching and probably overthought while doing so trying to gauge my reaction based on the comments I’ve heard and read. Sometimes I wonder if people would have minded as much about the age (not saying you!) if it was a hetero relationship. :-?? One thing that was apparent to me in the film was how much Elio was the pursuer and he definitely came across as very worldly and mature for his age. It wasn’t like he was an inexperienced virgin. I guess I also viewed it as a story of its time and setting (european intellectuals). I did find myself thinking about that issue given the critiques, however, and wondering where exactly is the cutoff on what is/should be appropriate? I think that is a lot harder to judge between someone in their late teens and early to mid twenties.
I do think the story could have been tighter with and could have benefitted from a little more plot/character development and I think there were some scenes that dragged a little. I also think, however, that given Elio’s upbringing, sexual exploration and same-sex attraction probably weren’t as big a deal for him as they could be for other people his age who were born to a different family/time/upbringing/setting. His parents were very blase about the whole thing and actually encouraging if anything.
I guess one thing you can say is that if the idea of a good movie is one that makes you think, then this one was a success.
The last five minutes of the film - the conversation with his dad - was by far the best part and carried the film, IMO. It did make me tear up. I wonder if younger people have that reaction as much as those of us who have lived life awhile.
@alexgrin
I follow directors/screenwriters that I love. Very much enjoyed “Wind River”, and if you have not watched Taylor Sheridan (he wrote the screenplay and it’s his debut movie as a director)’s two other movies (he wrote the screenplays for both) “Hell and High Water” and “Sicario”, I highly recommended them both. Like Wind River, the storylines of these two movies are also very unique and the actings are superb.
We accidentally bought the movie On Demand during the weekend before the Oscars (my daughter thought she was renting it). I’ve now watched it 3 times, and have to say it gets better each time. Lots of nuanced dialogue I picked up on in the 2nd and 3rd viewing…also, from what I remember it’s set in the early 1980’s so that added another layer to the film.
I do have to ask:
In that conversation at the end of the film, was Elio’s Dad basically telling Elio that he, too, was gay?
@alexgrin Thanks for mentioning Wind River is out on Netflix. Just finished watching it. Very intense, violent but a very well crafted movie for that genre.
@Mimi2018 , I watched it with subtitles on–it really helped. And I think the dad was, hmm … perhaps fluid is the word? Had made his choice and had some wistful regrets.
This is when I wish CC had the option of being able to hide the spoiler parts of posts, because once you’ve seen a movie of course you want to discuss those mysterious endings!
I think if one wants to start a new thread about a film with “spoilers” in the title, that would work as then folks would know and could choose not to read it.
