'You will get a crush on somebody, you will fall in love with somebody, you might get your heart broken - but even that is part of the beauty of the whole experience’
Call Me by Your Name hit cinemas this month, with the highly-anticipated film adaptation staying true to André Aciman's bestselling book by the same name.
The coming of age story follows the relationship between two men in the summer of 1983, with 17-year-old Elio falling in love with his father's American intern Oliver who is staying at his family villa in Italy.
With Lucas Guadagnino directing, a soundtrack by indie musician Sufjan Stevens, and Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet playing the two leading roles, it is unsurprising that Call Me by Your Name has been a success in the box office.
We caught up with Hollywood's Armie Hammer to hear more about the film and the story he felt the need to tell.
On what initially drew Armie to the project, he had no hesitation in naming its director Lucas Guadagnino as the main selling point. ‘First and foremost it would be Lucas Guadagnino,’ he explained to Marie Claire UK. ‘And then it would be the amazing script and amazing source material - André Aciman's book.’
He continued: ‘I feel like I’ve been really fortunate to work with great directors and that is the largest requisite for how I choose my work.'
'We shot Call Me by Your Name in Crema - a tiny town about an hour outside of Milan,' he explained, going on to joke, 'Lucas chose it because it is the town that he lives in and he wanted to sleep in his own bed at night.’
'It was incredibly free - incredibly fluid,' Armie explained of the filming. ‘We were making a movie about being honest and truthful so whatever we could do to make it more honest and truthful, we were definitely attempting to do.’
The film has been praised for empowering gay men and women falling in love for the first time but Armie insists that it is empowering for all. 'This is a very important film for anybody falling in love for the first time,' he explained. 'To know that you will get a crush on somebody, you will fall in love with somebody, you might get your heart broken - but even that is part of the beauty of the whole experience because it ends up becoming part of the tapestry that is your life.’
As for those involved in the film's unexpected Twitter backlash on age and consent, Armie didn't foresee it and has no time for it.
‘I don’t actually see that as coming from the film because the only people I’ve seen say anything about that are people who haven’t actually seen the movie,' the actor explained. 'And I take that about as seriously as someone giving me a book review of a book they haven’t read.’
Call Me by Your Name is in cinemas now.
