It’s based on a novel, set in Italy in the 1980s, told in several languages, and helmed by an Italian director, not to mention that it’s a gay romance - the kind of movie that in years past might have been too niche for the Academy. Compared to many of the other films in this year’s Best Picture race, its chances of winning are low we discuss why, and what it means that it was nominated at all.Īlissa Wilkinson: On paper, Call Me b y Your Name isn’t perhaps the most obvious Best Picture choice. In this installment, we talk about Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me b y Your Name, a rich, sensual, gorgeous gay romance with starmaking turns for Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. What made this film appealing to Academy voters? What makes it emblematic of the year? And should it win? In the runup to the Oscars, Vox’s culture staff decided to take a look at each of the nine Best Picture nominees in turn.
And thinking about what the Academy voters - as well as audiences and critics - found enticing about them helps us better understand both Hollywood and what we were looking for at the movies more broadly this year. There are genre films and art films, horror films and history films, romances and tragicomedies.
Oscar cheat sheet: what to know about the wide-open Best Picture race
