Keep the Lights On -- Film Review #4

Keep the Lights On – Film Review #4

Classic New York City in the nineties. Two young men learning about love – more importantly, about themselves. Keep the Lights On has good intentions about documenting the struggle between addiction and love, but drags on for the 120 minute running time. By the time the movie ended, I wanted to be out of the tumultuous nine year relationship more so than the two characters themselves.

The opening scenes of the movie accentuate the sunny and vibrant atmosphere of the film. This film takes place in New York City so what better way to depict the city than with actual footage of the diverse neighborhoods of the city. The cinematography is different from most films in that the camera does not deliver crystal clear shots. This aspect does not ruin the film one bit. In fact, I liked this aspect because it introduces you into the world these two men live in: a world of uncertainty and drugs.

Erik (Thure Lindhardt) is introduced to the film through a phone call. He’s on a gay chat-line trying to meet men in his neighborhood. He meets a few, but many of them don’t hold his interest, so he moves on to the next call. Through the chat-line, he meets Paul (Zachary Booth), a publishing lawyer who is still in the closet about his sexuality. Erik and Paul sleep together the first night and Erik believes it to be a one-night stand as he thinks they will never be romantically involved.

The relationship begins in 1998 and lasts nine years. One of the most important aspects of the movie occurs the first year of Erik and Paul’s relationship. Erik is headed from New York to Virginia to visit family and along the way stops at a diner to use a payphone. He calls his doctor to ask about the results of his recent HIV/AIDS test. His results come back negative but this moment puts into perspective the real-life risks people faced then and are still facing today. His phone call takes almost five minutes and every bit of it is recorded into the movie. This moment is one of the most profound scenes from the film because I genuinely worried about if Erik would receive the good news or not.

A year passes by and it is 1999 now. Paul’s addiction to crack is just now beginning. Erik doesn’t mind his addiction at first because he believes that the addiction won’t come between the two of them. However, Erik is foolish for believing that his boyfriend’s addiction won’t inevitably destroy them.

Crack begins to grip Paul ever so tightly and he begins to value the drug over Erik. The emphasis on how drugs can destroy a person and a relationship is one thing director Ira Sachs achieves.

The year is now 2001 and Erik and Paul’s friends have decided that an intervention is necessary and the only way the Paul will kick the problem. Through teary goodbyes and Paul’s rightful anger about the intervention, he decides to participate in a three month rehabilitation program. Slow shots and still scenes depict the difficult decision that Erik had to make in order to help his loved one. These shots also evoke sympathy from the audience because of the struggle between doing the “right” thing even if your loved one hates you and letting your loved one continue on the road to addiction that is far worse.

Two years later, Paul is back from rehab with a new outlook and attitude. The fighting between the two has ceased for the time being, but, like most addictions Paul is back to using his pipe and getting high daily. Paul’s relapse cripples Erik – he feels as if he has lost Paul once again and maybe, this time, for good.

After Paul’s relapse, I wondered when the movie would end and what else Sachs had in store for the movie. The next 45 minutes I learned that Sachs really had no direction left to take the film. Trying to compose a film that takes place over a nine year period is a daunting task to take on whether you are an amateur or a veteran filmmaker. Either way, this was not a smart move on Sachs’ behalf. The climax is the typical “rise and fall” of a relationship. Erik decides that his relationship with Paul will never work out, no matter how badly he wishes it did. The two characters part ways and go on with their lives as if the 120 minute movie based on their nine year relationship did not happen. The ending essentially leaves me wondering what the film’s premise was and disappointed that I wasted two hours watching a love story that winds up going nowhere.

Credit Block:

Cast: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, and Miguel Del Toro

Director: Ira Sachs

Writers: Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias

Producers: Lucas Joaquin and Marie Guirgis

Executive Producer: Jawal Nga

Cinematographer: Thimios Bakatakis

Costume Designer: Elizabeth Vastola

120 minutes, No Rating