"Keep the Lights On": A gay breakthrough, and a great movie |

Contents:

• "KEEP THE LIGHTS ON": A GAY BREAKTHROUGH, AND A GREAT MOVIE
• WAS IT GOOD FOR THE GAYS: ‘KEEP THE LIGHTS ON’
• MDG THERAPYMENTAL HEALTH AND POP CULTURE MEETMA MENUSKIP TO PRIMARY NTENTSKIP TO SENDARY NTENTHOMECONTACTABOUT (SORT OF)NOVEL “MDG THERAPY”SCREENPLAYDISCLAIMER/PRIVACY/COMMENTS POLICY SEARCH POST NAVIGATN ← PREV NEXT →“KEEP THE LIGHTS ON”: ILLUMATG COPENNCY A GAY COUPLE
• GAY THEMED MOVIEZ

"KEEP THE LIGHTS ON": A GAY BREAKTHROUGH, AND A GREAT MOVIE

Substance abe and emotnal and physil distance threaten the relatnship between a gay filmmaker (Thure Ldhardt) and his longtime lover (Zachary Booth). The bt part the film is that shows gay upl have problems of their own too, unlike most other films of this genre where everythg go on smoothly. The wrenchg gay relatnship drama "Keep the Lights On" may also be the year's bt Amerin film.

While "Keep the Lights On" is plenty explic on the subject of gay sexualy, ’s not an NC-17 picture and has relatively ltle nudy. As the filmmaker discsed a recent New York Tim terview, while he has lived an openly gay adult life his films (cludg the 2008 “Married Life, ” wh Patricia Clarkson and Chris Cooper) have primarily ncerned heterosexual relatnships. Rather, 's a lovg but fearls portra of gay urban life at the turn of the century, seen through the prism of one dysfunctnal love affair.

This movie may serve as a marketplace tt for gay-themed films the wake of crossover hs like Lisa Cholonko’s Osr-nomated “The Kids Are All Right” and Andrew Haigh’s Brish die smash “Weekend. ” It also may measure how far the gay muny has e on issu of self-reprentatn. While seems unlikely that bigots and homophob would actively seek out “Keep the Lights On” (except, you know, on the sly), any who do see uld certaly cherry-pick tails to support the this that Erik's entire dre of humany are generat.

WAS IT GOOD FOR THE GAYS: ‘KEEP THE LIGHTS ON’

Here is: “Keep the Lights On” is a landmark work gay cema, New York cema and Amerin cema. Sachs’ characters are specifilly and regnizably gay, no doubt about ; but that’s not anywhere close to an aquate scriptn.

MDG THERAPYMENTAL HEALTH AND POP CULTURE MEETMA MENUSKIP TO PRIMARY NTENTSKIP TO SENDARY NTENTHOMECONTACTABOUT (SORT OF)NOVEL “MDG THERAPY”SCREENPLAYDISCLAIMER/PRIVACY/COMMENTS POLICY SEARCH POST NAVIGATN ← PREV NEXT →“KEEP THE LIGHTS ON”: ILLUMATG COPENNCY A GAY COUPLE

It's an unsttg relatnship drama about two guys who fall love the most tolerant and diverse metropolis Ameri, surround by supportive gay and straight iends, and manage to screw all up wh dgs and crazs and horndoggery. I’ve heard suggted that “Keep the Lights On” is a vert portra of the sts of homophobia; other words, that Pl and Erik wouldn’t act so crazy if our society weren’t so severely polarized around qutns of sexualy general and gay sex particular. As Sachs has said, he’s tryg to pict a New York society that has evad the movi until now, which affluent, amb urban like Pl and Erik are not fed by their sexualy (central as is to their liv) and do not live a “Boys the Band”-style gay ghetto.

Geoly photographed moody, gray hu by cematographer Thims Bakatakis, “Keep the Lights On” also featur songs by unrground New York mic legend Arthur Rsell (who died of AIDS 1992), and an ternal tribute to photographer Avery Willard, who documented New York’s gay muny the mid-20th century. The film, though, is as sure-footed as their partnership is not — a nuanced portra of emotnal turmoil, persuasively acted, richly sensual one moment, wrenchg the next, and unlike so many films centerg on gay characters, not particularly ncerned wh thgs like g out or HIV. The film is, fact, evotive of a place and time — Manhattan at the turn of the lennium — when two gay, urban sophistit uld manage to ms thgs up even though they seemgly have everythg gog for them: money, passn, a gay-iendly environment and iends so supportive they're almost hectorg their love.

In this regular lumn, we’ll look at pictns of queers cema and ask, Was It Good For The Gays? Most importantly, do not fall to the trappgs of other films about queer people — that the two are gay men has ltle to do wh the plot (except for, I gus, how they meet: the late ’90s equivalent of a datg app or webse that served as a platform for men to meet each other discreetly for sex).

GAY THEMED MOVIEZ

While not exclive to gay men, there’s an unrlyg subtext about the e of methamphetam njunctn wh gay sex.

And the fact that neher of them die the end is an important aspect: their love might be doomed to fail, but neher Erik or Pl are doomed to die the ual cematic way which gay men mt perish for an dience to re for them.

Prevly Was It Good For The Gays:. I gus there are two thgs you n learn after watchg this movie: first, the gay hook-up culture (and how hasn't changed 20 years later...

G., of NEXT Magaze: “Fet Brokeback Mounta; Keep the Lights On is the grtit and most heartbreakg gay love story of our tim. ”Watch the trailer below:Andrew O’Hehir, Salon, acknowledg: “…(T)his movie may tt how far the gay muny has e on issu of self-reprentatn. While seems unlikely that bigots and homophob would actively seek this film out (except, you know, on the sly and stuff), any who do see uld certaly cherry-pick tails to support the this that Erik’s entire dre of humany are generat.

This is the most heartbreakg gay love story of our tim. ‘s Andrew O’Hehir scribed the film as “an stant landmark gay cema, and easily the ft dramatic film I saw at Sundance this year”, while LA Weekly‘s Kara Longworth lled “a richly textured, sad and betiful tobgraphil love story.

” David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter said of the film, “Breakg new ground ntemporary Amerin gay cema, Ira Sachs’ eply personal drama Keep the Lights On exam a volatile 10-year relatnship between two divergently addictive personali, observed a style that is loose and imprsnistic while at the same time microspic s timate tail. Other reviews pared Sachs’ work favorably to films like Ingmar Bergman’s Scen From a Marriage and Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, last year’s groundbreakg gay English romance film. Around the ftival, word of mouth built steadily over the week, wh straight dienc and gay alike fdg mon spac to appreciate the film’s unique take on a actured relatnship story.