Review: HBO's 'We Are Who We Are' A Deeper Dive into Youthful Sexuality, Identity

Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me By Your Name") writes and directs for this new HBO series that follows a group of civilian teens and young soldiers at an American Army Base in Italy.

These eight episodes start with the arrival of 14-year-old Fraser Wilson (Jack Dylan Grazer), whose mother, Sarah (Chlo� Sevigny) is the base's new commanding officer. It's a tough assignment: As the departing commander reminds Sarah, "In the last year we had 20 brawls, three rapes, and two suicides." His laundry list of problems is prescient; to some degree, whether depicted on screen or overheard in a dialogue between raucous soldiers, the first four episodes touch upon all these topics. There's also a nod to the sexism Sarah will face, as the departing commander adds: "Good luck with all that, sweetheart."

Sarah will face more than sexism; she's the subject of homophobic commentary from next-door neighbor Richard Poythress (Scott Mescudi), because Sarah happens to be married to another woman, Maggie (Alice Braga), who serves in the base's clinic. While Poythress hardly bothers to conceal his contempt, his wife, Jenny (Faith Alabi) forges a friendship with Maggie. Meantime, their daughter, Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seam�n) - who, unknown to her parents likes to dress in boys' clothes and go by the name of Harper - gets to be friends with Fraser.

This is where the series spends most of its time. The first two episodes show the events of Fraser's first day or so at the base, each taking the point of view of either Fraser or Caitlin. After that, the other characters in Caitlin's group of friends start coming into focus: The nurturing Britney (Francesca Scorsese), the spirited Enrico (Sebastiano Pigazzi), Caitlin's boyfriend Sam (BenTaylor), a soldier named Craig (Corey Knight), and Danny Spence Moore II), Craig's best friend - and also Caitlin's brother, who is resentful of the fact that Caitlin is their father's favorite child.

As time passes, rumors begin about Fraser and Caitlin, leading to repercussions within the group and shifting the dynamics of the friendships and sexual connections the young people share. But things aren't that simple; though fascinated by Caitlin from his first glance at her, Fraser is smitten by Jonathan (Tom Mercier), his mother's assistant. As Sarah and Jonathan develop a closer working relationship - and a friendship to go with it - Fraser starts harboring feelings of jealousy... though toward whom is hard to say. Fraser seems to suffer emotional difficulties, and his outbursts of rage - seemingly tied to his fondness for alcohol and always directed at Sarah - take on a frighteningly brutal edge, as he physically assaults his mother and directs streams of invective at her, all of which Sarah takes in stride, determined to keep an even keel for her son.

The series makes good use of its locations, and the teens - many of them bilingual - are shown carousing in a variety of settings, many of them gorgeous to behold. (The bilingual cast is to be commended; this is not a series that settles for having its actors learn their lines by rote, with no real idea of how to pronounce words in a foreign language. They actually know Italian - enough of it to sound convincing and deliver their Italian lines with emotional inflection.)

The series has the feel of a European film, proceeding at an unhurried pace and not shying away from realistic situations and a fair amount of nudity (both male and female). We're well along in the series when we pick up on the fact that it's set in 2016, which explains some of the directorial choices Guadagnino makes, including the use of freeze frames and extended scenes of youthful revelry set to well-selected music. The series is knowingly presenting us with what are - or will be - memories of a special place and time.

The four episodes provided for the review set things well on track, and feel like the most delicious invitation to stick around for more.

The eight-episode first season of "We Are Who We Are" is streaming now on HBO with new episodes each Monday.