Keep the Lights On chronicles an emotionally and sexually charged journey of two men in New York City through love, friendship, and addiction. Documentary filmmaker Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and closeted lawyer Paul (Zachary Booth, Damages) meet through a casual encounter, but soon 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 while being true to himself. Director Ira Sachs’s fearlessly personal screenplay is anchored by Lindhardt, who embodies Erik’s isolation and vulnerability with a gentle presence. Harrowing and romantic, visceral and layered, Keep the Lights On is a film that looks at love and all of its manifestations, taking it to dark depths and bringing it back to a place of grace.
Direction: Ira Sachs
Script: Ira Sachs
Production: Alarum Pictures, Parts and Labor, Tiny Dancer Films
Cast: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Paprika Steen, Sebastian La Cause, Julianna Nicholson, Sarah Hess
Original Title: Keep the Lights On
Original Language: English
Subtitles: German
Film Production Country: United States of America