Call Me By Your Name

Production: Frenesy Film Company

Distribtuion: Sony Pictures Classics

Genre: Romance, Coming-Of-Age Drama

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Synopsis: It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

A coming of age film concentrates on the psychological and moral growth, as well as maturity of a main protagonist from youth to adulthood, and it can be considered as a sub-genre of drama .

Key conventions of a coming of age film are typically naivety, virginity, pregnancy, drugs, home life, relationships and friendships. However, this film is part of the modern LGBT movement within Hollywood to focalise on homosexual relationships, and whilst this is fairly new to the genre, the Genre Theory can be applicable here as it is fresh for the audience to enjoy as the genre itself is so reliable, but these small changed derive pleasure.

These kind of films are all about encouragement and informing of experimenting, which thusforth requires a certain understanding for it to be relatable and enjoyable for the audience. Call Me By Your Name, is different. The poster is fairly unconventional at first glance, connoting to how the themes may be relatable, but the situation of the movie isn't. However, a sense of relatability is promoted through the anonymity of the second boy as audiences may find association within him as they may have feelings of isolation, irrelevance and general troubles which the genre explores. This helps the genre expand from petulance to themes of maturing, acculturation and worldliness.

Contrary to the poster that is extremely simplistic, even more so than usual drama/romance posters (again, the Genre Theory that changes small aspects), there is an evident sense that more explicit and complicated, perhaps controversial (contextually, this was the 80s) themes which may draw in older audiences. This is signified by the contemplative expression on the boy's face even though with the colour of the clear blue sky and the presence of his partner, he should be the quintisentially happy character, yet there is more to it that can only be revealed in an Action Code by watching the movie. This also connotes to the Genre Theory as the main storyline is revealed by the boy's expression to be the transition between childish/immature to complacent/humble, but there is the added aspect of the social stigma of homosexuality in the 80s.

Setting is an important factor in coming of age films, as they enable the audience to be able to relate more to the protagonist if they are in realistic, everyday settings. This poster adheres to this the sky is everywhere, and so is the character's love. However, this could blue alternatively be read as depressive emotions that goes against the typical use of romantic palettes that are lighter and vauger; this is bold, intense and cold and depressed to convey inner conflict.

The lack of distinct location draws in a global audience as it has the potential to be anywhere. The sky is also a signifier of the Binary Opposition theory as this movie seems to be all about men, not women; the men against women trope is often seen as sexist, however in this case it can viewed as more of a men as sexual objects against women as sexual objects, where their role is redundant as the movie focalises the homosexual gaze. This may be ironic as particularly in the 80s being gay was seen as a emasculating factor, so by proclaiming the colour as their own, it conveys how these characters are unconventional and will tear away from stereotypes.

The longer that usual title alludes to how it is an indie movie, and this will henceforth draw in a niche audience. The mention that this is from the 'hit author' appeals to the Prosumer who may have read the book and may take an interest in the movie. There could also be an inhereted audience from Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, the book, the director, or the audience may just even be attracted by the simplistic, straight-to-the-point poster; this is ironic as again this is a Binary Opposition of living a simplistic life and living life with complications. Heterosexuality is viewed as easy, whereas homosexuality is complicated and secret.

The clothing of the actors is very comfortable and casual, connoting to the easy-going vibe of the movie, and there is a simple image of the couple leaning on one another, the universal theme of love accessible to all and henceforth appealing. This may also allude to how that though they love eachother, it's more complicated than that for other contributing factors in their lives may cause inner-conflict that spills into their romance, as alluded to by their body language. That directly effects one character will undoubtedly effect the other due to their closeness.