Movie Review - 'Keep the Lights On' - A Nuanced Take On A Doomed Real-Life Love Ira Sachs' reportedly semi-autobiographical romantic drama, Keep the Lights On… Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but soon find a deeper connection and become a couple. Photo: Music Box Films Keep the Lights On is such a quiet, raw, and intimate film that at times you worry that maybe you shouldn’t be watching it. But it skirts its responsibility to delve deeper into the treacherous aspects of bottoming out and recovery - we go from 'just using' to a full-on intervention full of characters we've never met. On a first watching, “Keep the lights on” did not feel particularly focused, and Erik’s heartbreak due to Paul’s addiction did not read as strong enough. Movie A fine debut from Thure Lindhardt as Erik. 1. In Manhattan, film-maker Erik bonds with closeted lawyer Paul after a fling. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity while being true to himself. While most of Keep The Lights On feels more distant than emotionally involving, it’s still a well-done relationship drama with an incredible lead performance. Similarly, Erik and Paul’s motives were not clear enough throughout the movie, and it left me wanting to understand more about their dynamic. I don't understand why it's 'hip' to remake material we've all seen before with a 'gay' label. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy Details: Keep the Lights On chronicles an emotionally and sexually charged journey of two men in New York City through love, friendship, and addiction. Disc Review: Music Box Films certainly has treated this festival jet-setter with justified With Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane. This gay domestic drama is a fascinating turn for Sachs. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. This film proves that gender makes absolutely no difference... love is love--no matter how tough love is. Multifaceted director Ira Sachs returns with Keep the Lights On, his first feature since 2007, and is arguably his most poignant and strongest work yet. Philip Morris says recovery will take much more than just an end to the pandemic. Multifaceted director Ira Sachs returns with Keep the Lights On, his first feature since 2007, and is arguably his most poignant and strongest work yet. © 2021 METACRITIC, A RED VENTURES COMPANY. It feels as if we're being given glimpses into real lives unfolding. Monitoring the peaks and troughs of this fractious relationship is more fascinating than enjoyable. Director Ira Sachs goes for honesty here, and does well by it, but perhaps could have added something else to … A brutally honest, at times embarrassingly raw, attempt to capture a modern day, urban relationship...bittersweet and filled with memorable details, a huge leap forward for [director] Sachs. “Keep the Lights On,” by Ira Sachs, follows two men as their relationship grows, falters and endures over more than a decade. "Keep the Lights On" is the sort of semi-autobiographical movie that just goes to show that one's real-life drama, even if translated to the screen without a hitch, is not necessarily compelling for others. It is electric. Directed by Ira Sachs. Keep the Lights On reviewed by The 'Oyds Boyd and Floyd review Keep the Lights On, a drama set in 1997 New York. Motel 6 Lincoln: We will keep the lights on - See 130 traveler reviews, 59 candid photos, and great deals for Motel 6 Lincoln at Tripadvisor. Keep The Lights On Sundance-acclaimed drama Release Date: 02 Nov 2012 Running Time: 102 minutes Certificate: 18 Read Full Review Keep The Lights On Review … Keep the lights on With shows on hold and cash flow down 90%, Proctors has had to get creative. There's a lot to like here, and if you're a traditionalist who hungers for a happy ending, you'll find it embedded in the opening credits. Director Ira Sachs’s fearlessly personal screenplay is anchored by Lindhardt, who embodies Erik’s isolation and vulnerability with a gentle presence. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate, Keep the Lights On chronicles an emotionally and sexually charged journey of two men in New York City through love, friendship, and addiction. and the Terms and Policies, Last year Andrew Haigh packed more joy and heartbreak into one "Weekend" than Sachs has mustered in ten All Creatures Great and Small (2021): Season 1, Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. A mournful examination of the extremes of life condensed from a ten-year period into a hauntingly swift 101 minutes of heartbreak. Sachs captures Erik's yearning for Paul and Paul's addiction-induced indifference with equal force. they're procaiming their love for each other again. Keep the Lights On stands as a heart-wrenching arch, oozing with amiable authenticity in slices of life too often shied away from on screen. Are you sure you want to leave and cancel your review? The nuances of their relationship are clearly coming from an artist that understands his … Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! "Keep the Lights On" is one of those films that engages as one watches, but leaves little to grasp onto upon reflection. Every frame pulses with hard-gained experience: it may be the most lived-in film of 2012, and certainly counts among the most moving. Sign up here. All rights reserved. Copyright © Fandango. Forgot your password? You are essential to our mental health. In New York City in 1997, documentary filmmaker Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and closeted lawyer Paul (Zachary Booth) meet This review was originally published on January 27, 2012, as part of Film.com's Sundance 2012 coverage. It also signals the birth of … Keep The Lights On Keep The Lights On Review Movies: Keep The Lights On Manhattan filmmaker Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and city lawyer Paul (Zachary … Audience Reviews for Keep the Lights On Dec 09, 2015 Keep the Lights On is brutally honest and devastating like love can be when ruined by drug addiction and by … Best portable generators to keep the lights on When the power goes out, these generators kick into gear to keep the essentials up and running. Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but soon find a deeper connection and become a couple. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. They're not well suited to each other, and although their sex life is successful in the physical sense, it begins to stray in emotional meaning. Please enter your birth date to watch this video: You are not allowed to view this material at this time. From a $1,000 contributor to our fall fundraising drive today: Doing our bit to keep the lights on at NRO! An intimate, honest and uncompromising study of the need for love and the addictions to drugs, sex and intense emotion that may accompany -- and sabotage -- love's pursuit. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Keep the Lights On stands as a heart-wrenching arch, oozing with amiable authenticity in slices of life too often shied away from on screen. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. K eep the Lights On, a sensitive dramatization of director Ira Sachs’ past relationship with literary agent Bill Clegg, is many things: a throbbing tale of lust and love, an aching chronicle of a relationship’s fall, a heartbreaking account of addiction. Keep The Lights On is still well-made with a terrific cast supporting one of the year's best performances. Keep the Lights On is personal in a way that harks backs to American independent cinema of an earlier era. The opening credits of Ira Sachs' semi-autobiographical "Keep the Lights On… In Keep the Lights On, a spare domestic drama about addiction, filmmaker Ira Sachs makes regular use of a 1986 Arthur Russell song, “Soon-To-Be Innoce Keep the Lights On … Keep the Lights On – review 4 / 5 stars 4 out of 5 stars. This film proves that gender makes absolutely no difference... love is love--no. Don't have an account? Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. And then suddenly, "shazam!" Different terms, same payoff. Keep the Lights On is hardly a melodramatic film, but instead a vibrant, frank, and moving portrayal about two men in love that don’t know how to let each other go. Keep The Lights On chronicles an emotional and sexually chared journey of love, friendship, and addiction. Boardwalk: Keep the lights on - See 1,733 traveler reviews, 659 candid photos, and great deals for Philipsburg, St Martin / St Maarten, at Tripadvisor. An often painful and brutally honest look at love and romance. Director-cowriter Sachs takes an unusually intimate look at a 10-year relationship in this beautifully shot and performed New York drama. If someone has never had experience with addiction, this film might do something. Ira Sachs' "Keep the Lights On" follows a long-term relationship between two men who possibly shouldn't have started it. Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 A tenderly observed portrait of a man aching for romance even as he resists the idea of full commitment. A film-maker and lawyer start a relationship after a chance encounter. 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. Harrowing and romantic, visceral and layered, Keep the Lights On is a film that looks at love and all of its manifestations, taking it to dark depths and … (Music Box Films), Based on 22 Ratings and Keep the Lights On acknowledges (without belaboring) the performative nature of identity; how each of our claims to selfhood, be it sexual, romantic, or professional, are staged on a shifting terrain of habit, fantasy, and desire. The movie's elaborately failed closure only makes sense once you understand that the filmmaker's all-too-human desire for self-justification apparently trumped the ruthless self-control required to make a work of art. You are about to exit without submitting your review. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. > Film Review: ‘Keep the Lights On’ Forty Shades of Blue (2005) and Married Life (2007) director Ira Sachs’ Teddy and Sundance Grand Jury Prize -winning drama Keep the Lights On (2012) is an honest and heart-rending tale of a torturous New York relationship, told in a fractured chronological fashion across a ten year period. Harrowing and romantic, visceral and layered, Keep the Lights On is a film that looks at love and all of its manifestations, taking it to dark depths and bringing it back to a place of grace. 3 Reviews, An often painful and brutally honest look at love and romance. 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