Keep the Lights On

The approach, manner of depiction, and pace are more characteristic to a Danish or Swedish movie rather than a US one. The gay topic is atypical to a US movie industry as well, although a few of them were even awarded Oscars (e.g. Brokeback Mountain); still, gay erotica there was rather superficial. Keep the Lights On shows - apart from deep and painful dramatic moments - carnal part of love and affection as well (probably too much for certain viewers, on the other hand, the director/screenwriter is gay). The other main topic - drug addiction - has been approached more frequently. However, the plot is uneven, at times the tension disappears and some moves are not grounded, the last 20 minutes or so is protracted, and the ending is trivial. But the cast is evenly strong, the best performance is carried out by a relatively unknown Dane Thure Lindhardt (as Erik Rothman); he is worth remembering, he has recently had several big roles in good productions. But all other characters are deliberated and performed giftedly as well.

If you like dramatic movies with passion and addictions, then the one in question is definitely for you.

Keep the lights on is a story about Erik, a filmmaker, who falls in love with Paul. The movie is about their decade long relationship with many highs and lows and how their lives, tangled into each other's, gets affected by the choices they make.

First of all, hats-off to the direction by Ira Sachs. The film is shot in a very sombre manner which states that the men were never meant to be together to begin with, without the characters explicitly saying it in the film. I am excited now to see his much spoken about "Love is Strange" if I wasn't before. Another thing which I liked is the character development of the protagonist. As he is a filmmaker, he is depicted as eccentric who follows his desire but at the same time, we see him getting entirely overwhelmed by not being able to handle his relationship. As if he is putting so much efforts to make it work but it doesn't seem to be happening like he wanted which makes him furious and forces him to say or assume something which makes the whole situation even worse. Erik is played by Thure Lindhart. I haven't seen any of his other work, but I'll sure keep a lookout from now on.

The movie occasionally takes a very slow pace which might be a turn off to some people but I'll recommend one and all to stay fixated as all the other times, the movie is truly heartbreaking. The truthfulness of the characters, the amber cinematography, the contemporary demeanours but still yearning for traditional facets of a relationship like having a child, are the things which triumph for Keep the Lights on. It's the absence of emotional transparency between the couple which makes it one of the most moving films of its time.

Do give it a go if you're a fan of watching budding romantic flings on-screen and are not too afraid of watching it all shatter as well in less than an hour and a half.

NOTE: If you like, "Keep the Lights On", you might also like, "Happy Together" by Kar-Wai Wong.

A KVIFF screening of this year's Teddy winner in Berlin International Film Festival, from American director Ira Sachs. It is a detailed dissection of the a tug-of-war gay relationship between Erik and Paul, which soldiers on almost a decade in the present-time (1997-2006).

Thure Lindhardt, the Danish out-of-the-closet actor who has shown the immense stretch in the skin-head gay-romance BROTHERHOOD (2009, an 8/10), transforms himself into a young immigrant documentary director Erik living in NYC, probably sex-addictive, met the dandy boy Peter (Zachary Booth), first time for sexual intercourse, then the mutual attraction brings both into a relationship complex, which encompasses an overt hindrance, Paul's drug-addition, a cliché default even makes for the consistent trappings of gay life, thanks to the barren soil of the genre.

It's hard not to compare this film with last year's indie darling WEEKEND (2011, an 8/10), both stand out among other numerous lesser achievers, but in very disparate ways. KEEP THE LIGHTS ON is a sultry relationship conundrum exhausts one's vigor even dignity to sustain the suffocating love; while WEEKEND concentrates on the bad-timing symptom after a casual sex date which one must cut off his feeling and affection. Different terms, same payoff. Nevertheless, both films have a cracking two-hander cast, in this case, Lindhardt and Booth are fervently suited to their tailor-made roles, especially Lindhardt, literally carries the film on his shoulders to elaborate a not-so-extraordinary script, I do hope he will not be stereotyped into the gay-actor-can-never-act-straight category for his future career.

The film at large is a mean-well, sincere work with some uneasy aftertaste, but never accomplishes itself as a boredom, a welcome 7 out of 10 is my indulgence.

My biggest beef with this movie was that the romance between the two main characters, Erik and Paul, seemed shallow. They only meet each other a couple times before we as an audience are supposed to believe that they are "in love." Even Erik can't seem to really put into words why he's so into Paul when directly questioned. That, and that alone, made it difficult for me to be emotionally invested in the relationship between Erik and Paul, and therefore I didn't really care about any of the subsequent ups and downs that they went through. What the script lacks is the development of the relationship, and without it I am left confused as to why Erik chooses to stay with Paul throughout the story.

Otherwise, the acting was believable and the plot was interesting. I just like to feel emotionally connected to the love story in any romance movie, and I didn't feel it here.

In New York City, two young men are in an intense relationship which is made all the more intense as one of them is a drug addict.

The film seems bleak in the beginning (though in a realistic way) with lonely men getting lost in fast sex and hard drugs. The story, thankfully, goes beyond this as it shows some of these same people genuinely wanting to connect with someone.

Some opportunities were missed in that there were no scenes of what goes on inside a rehabilitation clinic. This would have enhanced the story as would some exploration of the co-dependent behaviour of the non-addicted partner. Also, an overly sentimental speech at a Christmas dinner seemed to go too far.

But these are small compared to the film's good points. It is very rich in exposing the ups and downs of a loving relationship that is realistically flawed. The ending (and the twenty minutes preceding the conclusion) were very powerful emotionally. The ending doesn't quite suck the tears out but instead leaves a deeper emotion which is very genuine.

Also, the film gets credit for avoiding bad, old cliches about gay characters.