Keep the Lights On

2012
6.4| 1h41m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 25 February 2012 Released
Producted By: Parts & Labor
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://keepthelightsonfilm.com/
Info

Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but they find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers — compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.

Genre

Drama, Romance

Watch Online

Keep the Lights On (2012) is now streaming with subscription on Prime Video

Director

Ira Sachs

Production Companies

Parts & Labor

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial
Watch Now
Keep the Lights On Videos and Images

Keep the Lights On Audience Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
ty_lattimore2007 Beyond disappointed with this film. The DVD cover looks intriguing. Unfortunately the film wasn't. The characters did not make much sense. I found myself having questions and more questions as the narrative just did not make sense. For example it was not clear why the character changed the sheets during sex. The main character using drugs after having so many issues with his partner having a drug problem made no sense. I just did not get through this film easily. It was difficult to make sense of this relationship, this film and the storyline. The character did not engage me to want to root for them or even really care. Definitely a missed opportunity considering the themes the film explores. I also found the movie was almost all white except one black minor character. The film did not at all reflect the diversity of the city it is set in.
ekeby As others have pointed out here, there are good performances, and the Dogma-style cinematography gives us the feeling that we're seeing some serious fare. The story is not necessarily UNbelievable, but the motivation of the characters seems missing, and ultimately, that's what sinks the movie.By missing motivation, I mean the love story itself. I saw the effects of the love story, but I felt like I never saw the actual love. I saw nothing in Paul that would have really and truly held the interest of someone like Erik. I mean, really--are there any worldly gay men around who would not cut loose a crackhead attorney post haste? It's one thing for an artist like Rufus Wainwright to admit he was mainly attracted to straight heroin addicts. That's so f**ked up, it almost makes sense. But a European filmmaker obsessed with a white bread American lawyer?? Sorry. Not buying it.That being said, there were some compelling scenes throughout. E.g., I was impressed with the hotel room scene, which felt real. And I'll admit, the movie held my interest enough that I wanted to see how it turned out. But the flaccid ending seemed consistent with everything preceding, making me feel a bit of a sucker.Like I said. Better than average, but not by much.
avenuesf As a gay man who's been in a relationship in the past with a drug user, I found this to be one of the most compelling and original films I've seen in a long time. The reviewer who stated he's "never even met anyone who's done crack" and accuses it of being "stereotypical" is either living in a small town somewhere or doesn't get out very much; meth and coke use are rampant in the gay community in San Francisco and other big cities, and this film very accurately portrays the disappointments and the gradual loss of self-esteem someone involved with a user goes through in hoping they'll recover. I don't watch a lot of "gay" films because I feel a lot of them are trivial, but this delved into territory I've not seen anyone brave enough to explore before, similar to "Shame." It's not always an easy film to watch, but it's raw and it's real. It will be interesting to see what kind of box office it gets or if it ends up falling between the cracks because it'll be marketed as just another "gay film." This is a universal story, it just happens to be portrayed here as happening between two men... I hope the film gets a fair release and people get a chance to see it.
Sean Kurzweil As a gay man, I like to support films with gay characters and stories when I can. Oftentimes such films sacrifice writing and acting in order to titillate. This film avoided that pitfall and delivered a cohesive, relevant and tasteful product. The characters were gritty and weren't cardboard cut outs. Personally, I found it a lot more relevant than a recent art film I caught called THE MASTER. The central relationship in this film is between gay men but the film manages to touch on failing/toxic relationships in general and offers up some noteworthy and humorous ensemble performances. As difficult as it is to believe, these relationships exist in gay and straight life. It seems to me that the filmmaker decided it was important to hold up a mirror and show us reality and a real relationship gone awry instead of showing us that gays can have just as little sex and/or just as loving relationships as straight folk. We have enough sanitized and safe portrayals of gays on network TV. I found the performances to be interesting and the characters were dynamic. Each had a journey unlike the static characters in the aforementioned, lauded art film. Since this film was most certainly shot quickly and with a limited budget, I take my hat off to cast and crew. The selfishness, desperation, preoccupation, co-dependency and obsessive behavior depicted seemed right on point. I felt that the filmmakers unflinchingly and without apology depicted the good, the bad and the ugly of this relationship while tell a story about two individuals in love.