Call Me By Your Name is a film that’s so tender and romantic it sweeps you off your feet.
The reason why “Call Me By Your Name” resonates so strongly, though, is because a palpable sense of love flows throughout it. When I sat down to talk to both Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet about the hit romantic drama, which has been drawing plaudits ever since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, I asked how they created such a feeling.
“First and foremost was Luca, who was able to guide this ship. We always thought that he had his finger on the pulse of what the relationship was and what the characters were,” explained the 21-year-old actor, revealing that the love originated from director Luca Guadagnino.
For both 21-year-old Chalamet and Hammer, who is 10-years Chalamet’s senior and immediately oozes a big-brother presence to his co-star, they both admit they were lucky that they got along so well, too.
“I think that me and Armie just got lucky that we hit it off as human beings. We never read with each other for the role, and we just got a long really well,” Chalamet explained.
“We met in Italy,” Hammer added. “And then they basically just gave us the luxury of a bunch of free time. We had 3-4 weeks before shooting, so we ate every meal together, biked around town. Timmy showed me around town, and we just spent a lot of time together. Fortunately, we just genuinely liked each other. So it wasn’t like we were just stuck together.”
Hammer also admitted that it wasn’t just the two lead actors that felt this rapport.
“Everyone felt this passion on set. It was ubiquitous. It was for Luca, it was for Julia our costume designer, it was for Saymbhu our DP. It felt like an adult version of summer camp. I was like, ‘I fu**ing love all of these people. This is the greatest summer of my life. I never want it to end’.”
Unfortunately for Hammer filming eventually did come to an end, though. But “Call Me By Your Name” has taken on a new lease of life since its premiere, meaning that those involved have now become intrinsically linked.
It has been suggested that “Call Me By Your Name” has struck such a chord with critics and audiences because it is the antidote to the current political climate and the sexual harassment scandals that have recently enveloped Hollywood.
But while Hammer didn’t dismiss such arguments, he did note that even if they are true they don’t deserve credit for that.
“It is really hard with films. Because they worked on this film for 10 years. Even by the time you start physical production you have been in some other form of production for so long. And once you have finished physical production you still have to go into editing and all that.”
“So you never know when it comes out whether it will be zeitgeisty or all that. The fact that we made a movie that right now people feel is pressing, and the fact that we made a movie that people are responding to, because they are responding to the fact that love is love is love and that’s it, it feels nice. It is a positive attribute to the film.”
There are many more positive attributes to “Call Me By Your Name,” which is out in cinemas on November 24.
