Editing Analysis

In Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, one of the most significant scenes of the film is a dance scene. The scene opens with a group shot of people watching the dance floor. The camera matches their sightlines and cuts to couples slow-dancing. The camera then follows a young woman bringing drinks over to the table where the group is sitting. With the character’s movement, the 180 line shifts. The group has a conversation, and then the camera cuts to a medium close-up shot to the protagonist watching the dancers. His eyeline is matched as the camera cuts to his love interest dancing with someone else. 

The character’s position changes as he goes from sitting back in his chair to slouching forward, leaning towards the camera. With this movement, the shot goes from a medium close-up to a close-up. The viewer gets the character’s expression and his reaction to the dancing. The shot establishes the intimacy of the scene and the duration of the shot raises the tension. The scene cuts back to the dancing. Then the camera cuts to two women dancing by the DJ to transition between the slow dancing and a more upbeat song. This was a creative way to signify change within the scene. The scene cuts back to the dancers, then to the close-up shot. In this shot, the protagonist is still looking at the dancers, but his friends are getting out of their seats and going to the dancefloor. This matches the action of the camera going back to the dancefloor.