Unfortunately this is pretty real from what I have seen. I know 3 different gay people who have had either inappropriate relationships or had very big age gaps while adults. I'm not condoning the inappropriate relationships (one is a minor while the other is a young adult), but I understand why they form.

Where I'm from, and where these people I know are from, it's slim pickins in the gay community. Straight people have tons of opportunities to find romantic partners, but gay people don't always have that (I'm sure you are aware), so when the opportunity arises, it's often a passionate connection where people decide to overlook social boundaries for the feeling of romantic love.

Once again, I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying I understand how people can do that. The movie seems to be realistic when it comes to those relationships, especially in the 80s when it was even less accepted and almost always completely hidden.

Maybe there was grooming going on, maybe it was two individuals that are just following their feelings instead of taking a step back and thinking about it. The older party should be responsible and not get involved in a relationship like that, but that's not how it is in the real world. Sometimes the older party is flawed and wants to feel the same feelings that straight people get to feel. Not saying it's right, just saying it happens.

So they made a good movie about those emotions. I think most people acknowledge that the relationship isn't acceptable due to their ages, but the main take away is how that relationship made the main character feel.