Keep the Lights On (2012)

Directed by: Ira Sachs | 101 minutes | drama | Actors: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen, David Anzuelo, Miguel del Toro, Maria Dizzia, Sebastian La Cause, Christopher Lenk, Aylam Orian, Justin Reinsilber, Shane Stackpole, Ed Vassallo, Todd Verow

Ira Sachs, the New York director who we know from films such as ‘Forty Shades of Blue’ (2005) and ‘Married Life’ (2007), based his film ‘Keep the Lights On’ (2012) on his own experiences in love. The film follows the troubled relationship between two men in New York over a period of nine years and observes how they succumb to addiction, doubt and fickleness. ‘Keep the Lights On’ is timeless because Sachs focuses exclusively on the two clashing characters and not on political and social issues; for example, although the story takes place between 1998 and 2007, no mention is made of 9/11. The love story is also universal: the two protagonists could just as well have been a man and a woman (or two women).

Erik (Thure Lindhardt) is a Danish filmmaker who came to New York to fulfill his dream. He is working on a documentary about Avery Willard, a pioneer in gay cinema and photography who caused a furore – albeit in the margins – in the 1940s and 1950s. We see Erik for the first time when he calls chat lines out of sheer loneliness and boredom, hoping to score a nice date (and preferably more). He encounters Paul (Zachary Booth), a young lawyer who hasn’t come out yet, and the two end up in bed. Then the story jumps to the year 2000. We see that the two men live together, but the time of roses and moonshine is now over. Erik is annoyed by the fact that Paul only thinks about his career and is often away, but especially about his increasing drug use. Paul wonders aloud when Erik will look for a serious job and why he is so involved with him. The irritations run high, although Erik does get his friend to go to rehab. The film continues, always by leaps in time, their lives. Sometimes they are together, sometimes not, depending on how far Paul can stay away from the banned substances.

It is clear that the character Erik symbolizes Sachs himself: he is much more in-depth than Paul and he knows how to win the viewer’s sympathy without any effort. That the relationship is not smooth sailing, to say the least, is largely Paul’s fault – or so Sachs wants us to believe. But where two quarrels are two to blame. Because Paul remains a great unknown to the viewer, it is also difficult to imagine that Erik loves him so much that he is even willing to go with him into the black hole, to personally drag him out again. It is a pity that the character Paul has not been explored in more depth, because otherwise ‘Keep the Lights On’ is a beautiful sketch of a relationship that is doomed to fail. The warm photography of Thimios Bakatatis does justice to both New York and the two men, and the music of Arthur Russell, who died of AIDS in 1992, also adds an extra dimension.

The charming Danish actor Thure Lindhardt gets plenty of room to shine and Zachary Booth also knows how to make the best of his underexposed role. Supporting roles include Julianne Nicholson as Erik’s best friend Claire and the Danish top actress Paprika Steen as Erik’s older sister Karen. We would have loved to see more of the latter! Despite its shortcomings, ‘Keep the Lights On’ is a timeless and atmospheric relationship sketch brimming with melancholy and subtly played out drama. This film by Ira Sachs deserves a wider audience than just the visitors of gay & lesbian film festivals!