The end of the month is approaching, and that means one thing: All your favorite streamers will be shuffling out old content and adding new movies, shows and specials. If you’re an HBO or Max subscriber, there are a couple of movies headed off the platform in just a few days.
Of all the movies leaving the streamer, Watch With Us recommends you stream Call Me by Your Name, the romantic drama that made Timothée Chalamet a star and put director Luca Guadagnino on many cinephiles’ radars. Based on the novel of the same name by André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name is a romantic, beautifully shot movie about love, sexuality and growing up. Here’s why you’ve got to check out this movie.
It’s a Movie About Summer Love
Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, summer is on everybody’s mind, and Call Me by Your Name captures the carefree nature of lazy summer days while infusing them with romantic tension. The story takes place in 1983 and follows Elio Perlman (Chalamet), a 17-year-old Jewish French-Italian boy, who lives with his parents in rural Northern Italy.
Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg), a professor of archaeology, invites 24-year-old grad student Oliver (Armie Hammer) to live with the Perlmans and help with research over the summer. Elio soon becomes fascinated with the handsome and confident older man.
What follows is a tribute to idyllic summer romance, full of wanderings through the Italian countryside and time spent reading in the sun. But it’s complicated by the age gap between the two leads and the questions they both have regarding their sexuality.
If you’re feeling up for a summer romance that’s more thought-provoking than fluffy, Call Me By Your Name is perfect. Plus, if you’re looking for a dreamy beach read, we recommend checking out the novel it’s based on and comparing it with the movie.
If You Like ‘Challengers,’ You’ll Love This Film
Challengers, Guadagnino’s tennis love triangle film starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, was one of the biggest hits of summer 2024. If you loved that film’s complicated relationship dynamics, erotic tension and distinct visual style, then Call Me by Your Name will be a great viewing experience.
The earlier film has a much slower, more introspective pace compared to Challengers’ pounding tension, but Guadagnino’s style adapts beautifully to both storytelling modes.
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The Subject Matter Was Ahead of Its Time
Queer romances and age-gap romances have become much more mainstream since 2017, even as Hollywood turns down its overt focus on diversity. (Films like Babygirl, The Idea of You, Bottoms and even Challengers come to mind.)
Call Me By Your Name cleared the path for those movies, making these concepts more mainstream by performing well at the box office. (In fact, it was Sony Pictures Classics’ third-highest-grossing release of that year.)
The Film’s Awards Pedigree Is Impressive
Call Me By Your Name won several well-deserved awards and was nominated for many more. Chalamet became the third youngest Best Actor nominee of all time at the Oscars, where the movie also took home the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
It was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song. Screenwriter James Ivory also won Best Adapted Screenplay at the BAFTAs, AFI Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and the Writers Guild of America Awards.
Overall, you can’t go wrong with a Call Me by Your Name viewing. Catch it before it leaves HBO and Max on May 31.
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