Call me by your name? Actually don’t call me at all
Sometimes no representation is better than whatever “Call Me by Your Name” was
Vishalli Alagappan
“Call Me By Your Name” is a queer, erotic coming-of-age adapted from the novel of the same name by André Aciman. The movie was very-well received when it came out, especially by straight white women; it was the height of queer representation to this demographic. To a queer brown person, the movie was frustratingly problematic.
The plot is that a 25-year-old Jewish post-doc student Oliver, played by Armie Hammer, travels to the Italian countryside to work under a professor for the summer and starts a relationship with his 17-year-old son Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet. On a good day, Chalamet looks like a 15-year-old and Hammer looks like a middle-aged man, so the age difference is jarring on screen. It’s very apparent that Elio is a child. The professor and his wife call Elio “Elly-belly” and rub his tummy. He is doe-eyed, curious, and submissive. Contrastingly, Oliver is confident, intellectual, and domineering.
The power dynamics between the duo was utterly disturbing. Oliver demands that Elio drop his pants in the hallway, performs fellatio, and leaves him vulnerable just to gain the upper hand of a situation. In another scene, Elio is embarrassed about masturbating and Oliver teases him and play-wrestles with Elio. Elio tearfully says, “ Please don’t do this… you’re f*cking hurting me,” to which Oliver responds sternly, “Then don’t fight.” These are just some of the many awful scenes that left me absolutely uncomfortable and flabbergasted.
The queer community has been plagued by stereotypes of pedophilia and grooming since the dawn of time, so to have such a toxic ephebophilic relationship be our representation is like a slap to the face. The aesthetics and cinematography are commendable, but I was altogether disappointed by this movie. Can the directors of Hollywood please make a movie that doesn’t pander to straight white women?