How the Soundtrack of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Produces a Mystery of Love
Music evokes memory. An analysis of the emotionally driven soundtrack of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ (2017).
Luca Guadagnino’s romantic masterpiece was hailed in 2018 for its quality as an adapted screenplay. The film deservedly picked up an academy award and received outstanding critical acclaim. The film focuses on the blossom of a summer romance between the two main characters Oliver (Armmie Hammer) and Elio (Timothee Chalamet). Unlike a typical period film, Call Me By Your Name (2017) does not lather itself in nostalgia even with the vast cultural canon of the 1980s era it is set in. Instead, the film uses romanticised elements of the past, present, and future to portray a passionate moment in an individual's life that cannot be forgotten. This technique is used in every element of film language, from the lavish pieces of cinematography of northern Italy to a truly fantastic soundtrack. This article will be taking a closer listen into how crucial this amazing soundtrack is to not only one of the best films of 2017, but of the decade.
How Music Evokes Memory
From a film set in 1983, you would expect the usual suspects of 80s synth-pop to appear in the soundtrack, but as discussed earlier, this film does not indulge in cheap nostalgia as the music is broadened from the era to specific moments. The music genres transition through orchestral piano symphonies, Italo-disco, new wave, and right on through to present day with three sombre tracks from singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. The tracks appear over vivid dream-like sequences. The scenes are almost too romantic, which begs the question, is what we’re seeing on screen a retelling of the love story between the two characters, or more specifically, a romanticised recollection from the perspective of one character.
Elio, Elio, Elio…
In the movie, it appears that we as an audience are positioned with Elio and his recollection of this truly passionate moment within his own personal sexual exploration: his first true love. Elio is often portrayed with his own passion for music. He’s an extremely cultured young man who is well versed in a plethora of symphonies. Throughout the portrayal of his love affair with Oliver a specific piece of piano music is used as a motif; André Laplante’s ‘Une barque sur l’ocean from Miroirs’. Music has the ability to remind an individual of a specific moment in their personal life. Therefore, this song could be Elio’s memento as we often hear it through the highs and lows of this on-screen relationship.
Confused Infatuations
The piano music used early in the film encapsulates Elio’s desire for Oliver and also the growing sexual tension between the two characters. Throughout these early scenes, Elio seems confused about his infatuation with Oliver. He does not act on his desire until a chance arrives during a disco in the town’s piazza. In the early stages of the film, Elio is involved in a heterosexual relationship with his girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel). However, notice how Elio pays no attention to Marzia within this scene as his gaze is solely focused on Oliver courting a woman with a slow dance to Giorgio Moroder’s Italo-disco track ‘Lady Lady Lady’.
It’s not important to question the sexual orientation of each character. The film is considered an LGBT film and its wide release and critical success has surely done great things for that community. However, the bigger picture is a universal story about love itself. Within this particular scene, and use of soundtrack, sexual orientation is used to drive the sexual tension between the characters, and at the same time, confuse Elio’s infatuation even further. The choice of song is perfect for this function. There is a verse in the song that specifically highlights what’s really happening on screen.
Dancing behind masks
Just sort of pantomime
But images reveal
Whatever lonely hearts can hide
These hetero relations are essentially a facade. Especially in regard to Oliver’s sensual slow dance as he is the subject of not only Elio’s gaze but the whole piazza’s. This could be down to the temporal stigma of homosexuality, but inadvertently the dance enhances the elements of confusion and desire that lay within Elio’s infatuated gaze.
The Psychedelic Furs — Love My Way
Once the slow dance ends, the characters on screen erupt into a state of trance dancing to The Psychedelic Furs’ new wave classic ‘Love My Way’. During this scene, once again the camera is fixated on Oliver with a low angle mid-shot of him dancing with his arms in the air. Once the chorus of the song kicks in, we see Elio enter the frame. His performance is a stark contrast to when he was sat in a slump, smoking, drinking, and gazing upon Oliver courting a woman.
Similar to the piano sequence discussed earlier, this track is used more than once in the film, and it can be considered to signify the start and end of Elio and Oliver’s relationship. The second time the soundtrack is used, the scene is practically a replica of the first scene. The setting of the piazza returns and the camera is once again fixated on Oliver dancing with a woman from the perspective of Elio. Regardless of the similarities, there are crucial differentials within the mise-en-scene. The first piazza scene is elevated in so many ways. The colour palette of the scene is so bright and vibrant. The music is loud as people cover the entire piazza with their dance moves. In contrast, the later scene is mute. The colour palette is dominated by the brown cobbles and stone brick of the church as there are only a handful of people in the piazza. The music is barely audible in comparison as it’s being played through a car radio. In essence, the party is over. The depressing reality of the relationship ending was too much for Elio, as this realisation affects him to the point of vomiting.
Sufjan Stevens — Futile Devices
Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens has a crucial role within the soundtrack of Call Me By Your Name. Three of his songs feature within the film, each of which are used in conjunction with the cinematography to enhance the sense of intimacy within the scenes. His first featured track, for example, a piano rendition of his earlier release ‘Futile Devices’, is used to tonally describe Elio’s infatuation with Oliver. There are many interesting elements within the scene that truly derive from the sense of memory. As discussed earlier, music has the power to evoke memory. The use of this sombre piano track evokes a sad memory of Elio longing for Oliver for then it only to result in disappointment; a literal slamming of the door.
In this scene, notice how the diegetic track is foregrounded in the audio and how Elio’s pain is manifested within the cinematography. For a moment the cinematography is washed in a blue palette. This is due to what can be described as a fortunate mistake as Guadagnino damaged the film. These choices within the film language amplify Elio’s emotions at the time. Furthermore, the drawing of attention to the film process connotes the scene as a constructed moment. It’s almost like Elio has allowed his emotions to construct how he remembers this low moment within the relationship.
Sufjan Stevens — Visions of Gideon
The final point that was just made could not be clearer with how the film ends. The final shot of the film is arguably one of the most intimate close-ups of the past decade in cinema. The film’s final credits roll over a static close-up of Elio weeping for the entirety of Sufjan Steven’s heartbreaking soundtrack ‘Visions of Gideon’. This emotional response follows after a telephone conversation with Oliver explaining to Elio that he’s getting married. The couple recalls their romantic trope by evoking the film’s title in calling each other by their own name. The final piece of the film’s dialogue is delivered by Oliver in which he states; “I remember everything”. In this, the narrative of the relationship is resolved as Elio receives his closure. In his compelling emotional response, Elio personifies the emotion of the song. The song itself directs the film’s ending not only emotionally but productively as during the filming of the scene Timothee Chalamet is listening to the song through an earpiece.
The repetition of Steven’s lyric “is it a video?” is a perfect way to conclude the film. This question anchors the narrative of the whole film, but more specifically, it empathises with Elio’s recollection of his first love. After all, as audience, this is what we have witnessed from the film. Elio has been replaying every moment of the relationship in his head as it was a recording, a video, a film. The film masterfully produces an allegory for an aspect of life that everyone endures; experiencing love… and remembering it to the point that it can never be forgotten.
