Call Me by Your Name is, at first, a movie about looking. From his bedroom window, the scholarly 17-year-old Elio (Timothe Chalamet) watches as Oliver (Armie Hammer), a poised 24-year-old graduate student, arrives in the fertile Italian countryside another visitor, there for another lethargic summer. Upon meeting, Elio leads Oliver up a winding staircase and into the room where he will sleep for the next six weeks. Their interactions are as lukewarm as the wide shots that frame them. Exhausted after traveling from America, Oliver doesnt want dinner, and he doesnt seem anxious to make a new friend, either. Hes snoring almost as quickly as Elio points to his bed.

Theres a trigger in the teenagers eyes, though a confusion, perhaps a spark of interest. Even when the scene lingers on Elios face, its hard to discern his exact thoughts, which is fitting; its hard for Elio to discern Elios exact thoughts, too.

And then the day dawns, the light of morning bringing clarity, maybe. Sunshine beams across the lush lawn as Oliver joins Elio and his parents for breakfast, untutored in the ways of soft-boiled eggs and village geography. Elio peers across the table. The camera mimics his eyes, landing on a small, silver Star of David dangling from Olivers neck, shown in sudden close-up and framed by the V of his unbuttoned collar. A pang of desire ripples across the screen, announcing Elios quiet enchantment.

This is a familiar sensation for queer people all too acquainted with the psychological warfare waged by the closet, which often ensures that adolescent glances remain just that. Hollywoods fraught relationship with gay tenderness is slowly evolving, as evidenced in Call Me by Your Name, the adaptation of Andr Acimans lauded 2007 novel. Opening in limited release on Friday and primed for the ongoing Oscar derby, Luca Guadagninos sensual film uses the torturous politics of the closet as a backdrop, but more than most of the queer cinema that has preceded it, his also clings delicately to the celebration of first love. It doubles down on two recent movies that won similar critical admiration: 2015s Carol and 2016s Moonlight .