X
  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • Music Box Films
  • 1 h 41 m
  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • Music Box Films
  • 1 h 41 m

Summary 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 and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but soon find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsi...

Directed By: Ira Sachs

Written By: Mauricio Zacharias, Ira Sachs

  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • Music Box Films
  • 1 h 41 m
  • 2012
  • Not Rated
  • Music Box Films
  • 1 h 41 m

Keep the Lights On

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 26 Critic Reviews
79
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 23 User Ratings
7.8
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary 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 and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but soon find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsi...

Directed By: Ira Sachs

Written By: Mauricio Zacharias, Ira Sachs

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 26 Critic Reviews
79
85% Positive
22 Reviews
15% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 26 Critic Reviews
79
85% Positive
22 Reviews
15% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Sep 6, 2012
Lindhardt, sweet and childish and achingly vulnerable, gives a stunning performance.
By Owen Gleiberman FULL REVIEW
90
Sep 6, 2012
Its subject is not addiction or ambition, or even love in a conventional romantic sense, but rather the more elusive and intriguing matter of intimacy: how it grows, falters and endures over time.
By A.O. Scott FULL REVIEW
88
Oct 12, 2012
The performances are first-rate, with Lindhardt particularly moving as a guy who's in deep denial about just how much he can expect from a relationship with an addict.
By Calvin Wilson FULL REVIEW
80
Sep 4, 2012
Sachs hits notes we've rarely heard in gay cinema, in which the hedonist bleeds into the humanist, the ephemeral into the enduring.
By David Edelstein FULL REVIEW
75
Sep 4, 2012
More than just a relationship drama of striking specificity, this is a naked confession about addiction.
By Ed Gonzalez FULL REVIEW
63
Oct 11, 2012
It's inspired of Sachs to lean on Russell for a kind of oblique emotional depth. But it's possible to leave this movie mistaking Sachs's soul for Russell's.
By Wesley Morris FULL REVIEW
40
Sep 4, 2012
The two characters are ciphers, and the script, which Sachs co-wrote with Mauricio Zacharias, is by turns underwritten or banal.
By David Denby FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 23 User Ratings
7.8
83% Positive
19 Ratings
13% Mixed
3 Ratings
4% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 23 User Ratings
7.8
83% Positive
19 Ratings
13% Mixed
3 Ratings
4% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Parts and Labor, Post Factory Films, Tiny Dancer Films, Alarum Pictures, Film50
Release Date Sep 7, 2012
Duration 1 h 41 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
Website http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keep-the-lights-On/259932190771132
View All Details

Awards

Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 4 Nominations
L.A. Outfest
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
LesGaiCineMad, Madrid International LGBT Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

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