"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.

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

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. Here is: “Keep the Lights On” is a landmark work gay cema, New York cema and Amerin cema.

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

Sachs’ characters are specifilly and regnizably gay, no doubt about ; but that’s not anywhere close to an aquate scriptn.

GAY THEMED MOVIEZ

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).

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