★★★☆☆ (3/5) – Important but flawed. More valuable as a document than as entertainment.

A recurring motif in the film is the failure of the adult world to provide guidance. Melissa’s grandmother, Elvira, is the only character who senses Melissa’s internal turmoil, yet she is eventually removed to a nursing home, leaving Melissa in an emotional vacuum. Guadagnino utilizes a poetic, atmospheric style to capture this isolation, choosing quiet, introspective visuals over sensationalism to highlight Melissa’s "inner world" and her quiet pain of disconnection.

: Melissa, played by María Valverde, lives with her mother and grandmother in Sicily. After a traumatic first sexual experience that leaves her feeling rejected by a boy named Daniele, Melissa spirals into a series of increasingly risky sexual encounters as a way to cope with her emotional pain and search for affection. Key Relationships The Grandmother