''Keep the Lights On'' is a 2012 American drama film written by

Ira Sachs Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American filmmaker. His first film was the short ''Lady'' (1993). Biography Sachs was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His films include '' The Delta'' (1997), '' Forty Shades of Blue'' (2005), '' Married Li ...

and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Sachs. It premiered at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

, and was released on September 7, 2012 by

Music Box Films Music Box Films is a distributor of foreign and independent film in theatrical, DVD/Blu-ray, and video-on-demand markets in the United States. Based in Chicago, Music Box Films is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corpor ...

."Keep the Lights On: Sundance Film Review"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', January 21, 2012. The film stars

Thure Lindhardt Thure Frank Lindhardt (; born 24 December 1974) is a Danish actor, educated at the drama school at Odense Theatre in 1998. Life and career Lindhardt was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in Roskilde. At the age of 12, he got a part in Bille Augu ...

as Erik, a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

filmmaker living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to work on a documentary film about artist Avery Willard; while there, he enters into a loving but complicated long-term relationship with Paul (

Zachary Booth Zachary Booth (born 1983) is an American actor. He appeared in several productions with the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, before starring in The N's ''What Goes On'' and on FX's ''Damages''. Booth is a 2004 BFA graduate of ...

), a lawyer in the publishing industry who struggles with drug addiction. The film's cast also includes

Julianne Nicholson Julianne Nicholson (born July 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' August: Osage County'' (2013) and '' Blonde'' (2022), as well as the television series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2006–2009) ...

, Souléymane Sy Savané,

Paprika Steen Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films ''Festen'', '' The Idiots'', Mifune, and ''Open Hearts''. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nellemos ...

, David Anzuelo,

Maria Dizzia Maria Teresa Dizzia (born December 29, 1974) is an American actress. Dizzia was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in ''In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)''. Early lif ...

, and Miguel Del Toro. The film is based on Sachs' own past relationship with Bill Clegg, a literary agent who published his own memoir about his struggles with addiction, ''Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man'', in 2010.

Plot

In 1998, Danish artist Erik living in

meets Paul, a lawyer, through a phone sex hotline. Attracted to each other, they share an intimate moment and sex. Erik later visits a man named Russ who seems more interested in showing off his muscles to Erik than having sex. Erik sees Paul again and tells him about how he broke up with his ex-boyfriend Paolo, who was

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-positive. Erik confides to his friend Claire on how he is happier with Paul than he was with Paolo. Paul asks Erik to keep quiet about his drug use and gets Erik high. Paul, who has been closeted, sees his ex-girlfriend while visiting an art gallery with Erik. Paul avoids introducing Erik to his ex, by walking to a section of the gallery out of sight. While away from the city, Erik calls his doctor and learns that he is HIV-negative. Later, Paul throws a surprise birthday party for him. In 2000, Paul catches Erik talking to another man in the street. He confronts him and they argue but manage to get over it. Paul then briefly goes missing during a dinner with Erik and his friends and evades questions about where he was. Erik, temporarily away to work on a documentary, feels lonely and calls a phone sex hotline. He is startled when he is connected with Paul and becomes upset. Back in New York, Erik argues with Paul, but they make up again. Erik comes home to find an unconscious Paul outside their apartment. Paul is sent to rehab and states that Erik ruined his life. Erik goes to a gay club and meets a painter named Igor. In 2003, with Paul's release from rehab and Erik's success with his film, Erik assumes everything will be better. The assumption is rocked when he learns that Paul left home while he was at work. While his sister comforts him, Erik gets a call from Paul who tells him to visit him at a hotel. Paul displays erratic behavior, trying to pretend he is okay while it is clear to Erik that he hasn't improved since rehab. Erik tries to convince Paul to return home, but he remains at the hotel and hires a

male prostitute Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

whom he has sex with while Erik watches. Erik goes to visit Russ, and the two share drugs and possibly sex. In 2006, after not having seen each other for about a year, Paul meets Erik at a diner where both seem better than before. Erik invites Paul to spend the night at his apartment, to which Paul agrees while avoiding to having sex before going to sleep. Erik later runs into Igor and the two have a drink at a bar. When spending time together in the countryside, Erik asks Paul how he feels about their relationship. Paul turns aggressive and gives Erik an ultimatum. They either decide to move in together or break up. Erik says they should move in together, but later at night drives to Paul's apartment to tell him that he changed his mind. He walks Paul to work and admits that he still loves him, although Paul is skeptical. The two hug and Paul tells Erik to be well.

Cast

as Erik Rothman *

as Paul Lucy *

as Claire * Souleymane Sy Savane as Alassane *

as Karen *Miguel del Toro as Igor *Sebastian La Cause as Russ *David Anzuelo as Russ' Boyfriend *

as Vivian *Justin Reinsilber as Dan *Ed Vassallo as Tom

Reception and awards

''Keep the Lights On'' received acclaim from most movie critics. Metacritic.com gave the film a score of 79 out of 100 based on 26 critics. The film won the 2012

Teddy Award The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay ...

for best feature.

was nominated for the

Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor The Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer is one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards. It was first awarded in 1998, with Sonja Sohn and Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapp ...

. The film was also nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.

References

External links

keepthelightsonfilm.com
(Official Website) * * * {{Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year 2012 films 2012 LGBT-related films American drama films American LGBT-related films Films directed by Ira Sachs Films set in 1998 Films set in 2000 Films set in 2003 Films set in 2006 Films set in New York City Gay-related films 2012 independent films Kickstarter-funded films LGBT-related drama films 2012 drama films 2010s American films