A Little Bit Critic
Intense Should Be My Middle Name
Editor’s Note
I have been fighting the urge to write a review for Abbott Elementary. The series deserves all the hype that it is getting. Episode 16 made me realise that I settle for too little. We all deserve a room made entirely of flowers. We all deserve a lanyard pulling and goosebumps-inducing moment. While we all deserve something as pure as Janine and Gregory, our generation can only be described with
We accept the love we think we deserve.
Perks of Being A Wallflower is one of those few books not butchered by its adaptation. Ezra Miller was also in a better place then.
Our generation has convinced itself about the need to break free from traditions. It has convinced itself that the things we need have to be different. It cannot be reminiscent of the older times. It has to be wrapped up in the complex labyrinth of infinite possibilities. We know that the world is at our fingertips. The world may have become more accessible, but we are so much more closed off.
Having said that, I don’t mean to say that everything before us was better. I would definitely not want to be in the times before. Yet opportunity cost has never been a truer reality in relationships (of all kinds) than it is now. Enough of my note. Let’s get into the movies.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
I am Timothee Chalamet starved and now that Armie Hammer is not making headlines, it is about time I start talking about this movie again.
I watched this movie during the peak of covid. It was a confined experience. For a few days, I didn’t process it. Soon after the movie, I read the book. Maybe words would help me process. Written by Aciman, the book did not do me any favours. I did not know what is happening. Life was so pristine and beautiful but there was something so distant about it.
The story of the movie is pretty simple. Elio Perlman is vexed by Oliver, his father’s temporary history assistant from America who has come to Italy for a mere 6 week period. It is set in the 1980s but the story barely explored the societal complexities of such a love. The story cared more about the turmoil and the overwhelming desire taking over the young boy.
The love is both so innocent and yet so intense. While the movie had the peach scene, the book had that and more. The story’s simplicity should not be mistaken for a simple experience. It has a depth that will hit you out of nowhere. My favourite example for this is the dynamics of Perlman family.
While the story is about the love between Oliver and Elio, it is intertwined with the relationship the Perlmans have. In plain sight, Elio is close to his parents. They have enviable conversations and a connection surpassing obligatory family bonds. Yet, there is a distance that slowly becomes clearer. Mr. and Mrs. Perlman talk to Elio about complex topics as if he is a thinker just as them so when they do realise that he is a teenager, they also notice he has no tendencies of one. Their sudden concern about how isolated he is then irks him. His solidarity and craving for alone activities (transcribing music, reading literature) starts becoming a reflection of their parenting.
Between the Perlman’s too, there is a distance. Mr. and Mrs. Perlman seem wrapped in love. They read books to each other, enjoy music together and have made each other’s habits their own. Yet, love may not be there. Their relationship is meant to be a contrast to the intensity brewing between Elio and Oliver. They have a simplicity in their relationship. Mr. Perlman, towards the end is talking to Elio where he tells him
And I’ll say one more thing… it’ll clear the air. I may have come close, but I never have what you two have. Something always held me back or stood in the way.
He mentions his envy. In the sequel this becomes relevant but knowing this upon reading/watching, changes the way the Perlmans look.
Call Me By Your Name is of a lot more than Elio and Oliver. It is a reminder to its readers that every relationship we have in our life is way more than what we think of it. We give importance to the one that at the moment feels intense. That occupies our mind the most. The one leaving us craving. Our craving to feel the most at all times is so important that when that relationship fades, we move on to the other extreme; numbness. Life seeks balance while our mind seeks euphoria.
I cannot end this piece without quoting another line from Mr. Perlman’s advice to Elio-
We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster that we go bankrupt by the age of 30 and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to make yourself feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!