‘Call Me By Your Name’ Is A Love Story Between A 17- And A 24-Year-Old. Should We Be Skeeved Out?

“For fans of the book and the film, it may feel self-evident that Call Me by Your Name is not a story of predation: It’s a story of first love and lust told from the perspective of a particularly mature teenager on the cusp of adulthood; the relationship is consensual; even Elio’s parents seem to approve; and, in any case, this is a fictional depiction, not an ethical endorsement. But the age gap will give pause to more people than right-wing trolls – it did to my progressive companion at an early screening – and it does the film no favors to pretend it’s not a question worth exploring.” So Slate‘s Jeffrey Bloomer explores it.