Turns out that final scene in Call Me By Your Name hit even harder than fans realized, and not just because of Timothée Chalamet’s tear game.
Timothée Chalamet actually wore a hidden earpiece during the now-iconic fireplace moment. And what was playing in his ear? The same track that crushed audiences on cue: Visions of Gideon by Sufjan Stevens.
Yep, while Elio sat in front of that fireplace, quietly mourning a love that slipped away, Chalamet was feeding off the exact same emotions as viewers – live. The music wasn’t added in post-production for dramatic effect. He felt it in real time. Talk about syncing your soul with the scene.
The revelation came straight from Chalamet himself in the film’s DVD commentary. According to BuzzFeed’s “Bizarre Movie Facts” roundup, Chalamet confirmed that he “actually wore a wireless earpiece with Visions of Gideon synced up with the film so that Elio could portray complimentary emotions to the tone of the song.” A little post-editing made the device vanish from the final cut. What remained was raw, heartbreaking magic.
The decision made sense. Music wasn’t just a background layer in Call Me By Your Name, it was the film’s emotional lifeline. The dreamy visuals, soft dialogue, and poetic pacing were deeply interwoven with a score that wrapped around every moment like a memory.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the 2017 romance followed a 17-year-old Elio (Chalamet) and his father’s summer research assistant Oliver (Armie Hammer) as they fell into a slow-burn love affair set in 1980s Italy. But like every summer, the magic faded. Oliver left, Elio stayed, and audiences were left emotionally obliterated by that final five-minute stare.
The musical heartbeat of it all? Sufjan Stevens. The indie-folk artist didn’t just hand over a few songs, he helped shape the soul of the story. Along with Visions of Gideon, Stevens also contributed Mystery of Love (which earned an Oscar nod) and a remix of his earlier track Futile Devices.
Of course, the rest of the soundtrack wasn’t slacking either. The film blended Stevens with The Psychedelic Furs, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Joe Esposito, and even some Bach, creating a playlist that lived and breathed with the characters. Every track hit like a diary entry. Every note carried longing, youth, and the ache of goodbye.
But that final moment – with Chalamet crying quietly while Stevens asked “Is it a video?” – was the perfect storm of performance and sound. The tears were real. The emotion was real. And now, thanks to that tiny earpiece, we know just how deep Chalamet went to get there.
It was subtle. It was genius. And it left fans gutted… in the best way.
