Over the course of two hours, Call Me By Your Name lays out a delicate love story between two men, 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer), brought together for a life-changing summer tryst in Italy. The film, which is nominated for four Oscars in tonight’s ceremony, is heartwarming throughout, and it’s not until its closing scene that the viewer is forced to contend with emotions other than vicarious bliss. It’s in these final few minutes that Elio receives a rogue phone call from Oliver announcing his upcoming marriage to a woman; he then proceeds to break down, crouching to the floor before a crackling fireplace as he processes the soul-crushing reality that their love will never be rekindled.

As that reality slowly sinks in, Elio’s eyes well up with tears, and soon they begin to drip, one-by-one, down his chiseled face. All the while, the camera is unwavering, reveling in his pain as he blinks uncontrollably and takes deep breaths, as his lips curl, as he stares into the fire like his life depends on it. As Elio, Chalamet savors every small movement of his performance, wordlessly evoking a world of emotion; it earned him a Best Actor nod at tonight’s awards, making the 22-year-old one of the youngest nominees in decades.

But as immersive as Chalamet’s performance is, the scene’s emotional weight owes as much, if not more, to the song that plays softly in the background. “Visions of Gideon” is the third and final song by Sufjan Stevens to appear in the film, and its simple piano chords provide the perfect backdrop for Sufjan to contemplate the loss of love: “I have loved you for the last time,” he declares before asking, “Is it a video?” The four-minute track, which plays in its entirety as the film’s credits begin to roll, is arresting in its haunted beauty; it’s the kind of song that thrives on repetition while also building toward a cathartic release that never really comes.

As far as original songs for film go, “Visions” is one of the first I’ve heard that truly feels like it needed to be in the scene in which it appeared. Even the film’s director, Luca Guadagnino, seems to agree, sharing that he knew it would soundtrack this scene immediately after hearing it; he even gave Chalamet an earbud to use during filming so the actor could listen to it as he tried to channel the necessary emotion. By now, I’ve seen Call Me By Your Name four times, and I’m confident that this movie wouldn’t have been the same without this song’s inclusion.

In many ways, the same can be said for all Sufjan’s contributions to the film. Alongside “Visions,” Sufjan also recorded another new song — the Oscar-nominated “Mystery of Love” — and tapped frequent collaborator Doveman to remix his Age of Adz track “Futile Devices.” All three appear in Call Me By Your Name at crucial points and, with the exception of the Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way” — which benefited from a now-viral clip of Oliver joyfully dancing along to it — are the songs most recognizably associated with it.

I read a lot into Sufjan’s decision to contribute so much to this film. Not only had the notoriously private songwriter turned down numerous offers from Hollywood in the past, but according to Guadagnino, Sufjan was only originally asked to contribute one song, not three. The artist has expressed his admiration for Andre Aciman’s original book, James Ivory’s adapted screenplay, and Guadagnino’s skill as a director, but his willingness to immerse himself in this story, in particular, speaks volumes. When asked about his decision by Vulture, Sufjan pointed to the profound physicality of Guadagnino’s work, as well the emotional experience detailed in this narrative. “That’s really what I was working on, this idea of first love being really irrational and sensational,” Sufjan said, “and feeling boundless in its experience.”