What's probably most special about co-writer and director Ira Sachs' Keep the Lights On is what it avoids doing, rather than what it actually does. A few years ago a movie about a gay male relationship torn apart by drug addiction would have gone out of its way to make some finer point about the homosexual culture. Or worse, it would have been steeped in cliches that would have undermined any message it was trying to impart. Sachs presents his characters not as gay people, just ordinary people dealing with the beautiful highs and crushing lows of a love with potential met and unfulfilled.
Sachs dug deep into his own turbulent, long-term relationship with agent/author Bill Clegg(Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man) in crafting this story, and the deeply personal touches are apparent throughout. Danish actor Thure Lindhardt gives a moving, vulnerable performance as Erik, a soft-voiced filmmaker who we first meet scouring phone sex lines for a quick hook up. It's clear from the start that Erik isn't merely horny, he's lonely and looking for whatever fleeting connection he can find. He meets Paul(Zachary Booth), who is immediately handsome in a closeted conservative sort of way. In fact, after a first date one night stand, Paul's reaction is to say that he has a girlfriend and this won't be a regular thing. Erik eventually wins him over, through frequently employed puppy dog eyes, but something about Paul never seems quite right.
We learn fairly quickly what the issue is. During their second time together, Paul reveals himself as a crack smoker, and Erik is willing to accept this in order to be with the man he's quickly falling for. But as they become a couple and things start to get serious, it's clear that Paul's drug use isn't just recreational. As the years pass, it only gets worse as Paul disappears for days at a time, only to return as defensive about his drug use as ever. But addiction comes in many forms, and Erik's inability to just let Paul go opens him up to even more hurt. The extent of their mutual dependency is underscored in startling fashion as Erik holds Paul's hand as he engages in drug-fueled sex with a shady rent boy. Sachs isn't as interested in reliving the entirety of the ordeal as he is focusing heavily on the details of a few key moments. The film covers a span of years, but as Sachs subtly carries us along it takes on a dreamlike, vignette quality as if we're being guided by a storyteller reliving some harsh memories. While set in the late 90s and spanning into the mid 2000s, the film has a retro, grainy quality that adds to the murky tone. This isn't a totally hopeless story, but nor is it a joyous one, and it's that middle ground of uncertainty that Sachs gets so beautifully. Even a love as chaotic as Erik and Paul's is never completely destructive or joyous. As much as Sachs is so good at capturing the subtle details, he mostly keeps us at a distance from his characters, and that makes it tough to stay invested as Paul continuously slips up. At some point it begins to get repetitive, and while many relationships do end up in such a cycle of continued disappointment, it doesn't always make for an entertaining film.
It's a credit to Lindhardt's honest, fragile performance that we root for Erik to get away from Paul's selfish tendencies. Lindhardt's been around for awhile, mostly as a supporting player in a few major films, but here he comes into his own and hooks us from the very beginning. He's by no means the traditional leading man, and it's riveting to watch how Erik shifts from meek when in Paul's company to having surprising strength and self worth when in the company of others. Ultimately, Keep the Lights On is about finding the inner resolve to do whatever is necessary to be happy, even if it's a course leading away from those we love most.
