Timothee Chalamet is reuniting with Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino for a new love story, and, in the meantime, fans have been re-watching one of the most well-written love stories to date. Call Me By Your Name became a cultural phenomenon after its release in 2017 and brought LGBTQ+ coming-of-age stories more fame and popularity.
The screenplay is beautifully written and consists of many insightful quotes, most of which come from Samuel Perlman, a man of much intelligence. He finds himself discussing many profound topics as he is constantly providing his son with wise advice, and comforting musings. Here are 10 of his most memorable.
"We Rip Out So Much ... To Be Cured Of Things Faster"
Samuel is clearly a very educated, intelligent man as he offers his family all kinds of smart advice. But when it comes to his son, he waits for the perfect time to reveal just how wise he can be, showing his emotional intelligence. He tells his son to let himself feel the weight of what he is going through and to not bottle it up.
He reminds him that forcing himself not to feel anything is a waste and goes against human nature. Samuel takes the time to talk to his son and to find out what he is going through. Elio is persuaded to live through his feelings, and this is best seen in the end scene, where Elio starts crying after hearing the news that Oliver was getting married.
"You Had A Beautiful Friendship. Maybe More..."
Mr. Perlman comes across as very perceptive and ive of his son. Elio and Oliver go about their relationship without knowing that he seems to have an inkling of what is happening between them. When Oliver leaves at the end of his six weeks with the Perlmans, Elio sits down with his father and realizes that he is more observant than he previously thought.
He hints that he knew what was going on with his son, even if Elio didn't really know himself. His kind words and wise musings comfort Elio, who is, for the first time, experiencing heartbreak.
"Our Hearts And Bodies Are Given To Us Only Once"
When Elio is talking to his father after Oliver leaves, he gives his son more wise advice. He reminds Elio that his one heartbreak doesn't define his life and, while still young, his life is still ahead of him. This conversation between Samuel and Elio is one of the more memorable ones throughout the movie, where he reveals that he had an inkling of what was going on between his son and Oliver.
"There comes a point when no one looks at your body, much less wants to come near it." His father is reminding him that Elio is still young and to enjoy this time in his life, not waste it.
"Flying Colors"
Oliver is invited to the Perlman residence as Samuel's research partner and, from the start, seems very intelligent and somewhat arrogant. Each character is incredibly smart, which makes somewhat difficult to understand at some parts. To test his intelligence, Samuel poses an experiment.
When Elio's mother brings them some apricot juice while working, Samuel tells them the origin of the word 'Apricot' to which Oliver disagrees. The audience then finds out it was all a test and Samuel says he ed with "flying colors". This suggests that Samuel works at a high level of academia, and he needs someone who can match that energy, hence the test.
"Nature Has Cunning Ways Of Finding Our Weakest Spot."
Elio's father seems to understand more about Elio's relationships than Elio does himself. Mr. Perlman tells him that nature has a way of always finding people's weak spots, and in this case, it was Elio's feelings.
Elio had no intention of falling for Oliver, but did nevertheless. He isn't aware of his weak spot until later in the story, when he realizes that he is in love with Oliver. It may come off as a pessimistic quote, but it's meant more as something that simply must be understood to get the most out of life.
"(It) Had Rverything And Nothing To Do With Intelligence"
Samuel knows that their relationship started off as something academic, what with Oliver being there to assist Elio's father. They bonded more intellectually than anything other, both being very smart people.
But their bond developed over time, and they became so much more. Samuel knew this and tried to talk to his son about it. The relationship between Elio and Oliver was one based on being a good host and a good guest at first, but it gradually became more emotional and real.
"You're Too Old Not To Accept People For Who They Are"
When Elio's parents welcome some friends, Mounier and Isaac, a gay couple, Mr. Perlman scolds his son for being dismissive of their guests. Samuel realizes that his son has a homophobic prejudice, which could be a result of him coming to with his confusing feelings towards Oliver.
He is dismissive of the couple as he can't see himself being this confident in his sexuality. Samuel tells Elio that this is rude, not to mention unethical. According to other conversations the two had, it is safe to say that Samuel has been here before, and reminds the audience that he too was once Elio's age and that life is too short to hold grudges.
"Most Parents Would Hope The Whole Thing Goes Away..."
Although Elio didn't directly tell his parents what was going on between him and Oliver, or maybe he didn't know himself, his parents have never judged him; especially his father, who knew they were more than friends. Call Me By Your Name is set in the 80s, during which views of sexuality and sexual orientation were generally more narrow than they are today.
Having this come from Elio's father, which he follows with "But I am not such a parent," shows the audience that he is a very accepting person, and he understands what's happening. This is a very heartwarming scene and one of the most memorable.
"Maybe You Never Wanted To Feel Anything."
During one of their father and son heart-to-hearts, Samuel is sympathizing with Elio, suggesting that he didn't intend to fall in love with Oliver and that it just happened. This is something that reinforces the idea that Samuel has experienced something like this before and therefore knows what to say to Elio.
He also sees Elio struggling with Oliver moving on with his life and trying to hold his feelings in to make himself not feel the weight of them. Samuel is very perceptive and uses his own experiences to help his son.
"I May Have Come Close"
Samuel attempts to talk to his son about the relationship he shared with Oliver and drops hints that he knew about the nature of it. He also tells Elio that he, too, once shared feelings like this, but far from the same.
This could be his way of trying to coax Elio out of his shell, to be able to talk to his father about his feelings, or something that bonds them together as father and son over something that is a natural part of life.
