Keep the Lights On 2012

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: A harsh yet delicate tale of two New Yorkers whose co-dependent relationship is fueled by sex, drugs and complex longings for companionship. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The look, mood and rhythm of the film are exquisitely, even thrillingly authentic. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Sachs depicts a once-transient culture stumbling toward a design for rooted living. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: An accomplished indie filmmaker ("Forty Shades of Blue"), Sachs creates a genuinely romantic bond between his actors that feels fresh and free of cliches. Read more

Sam Adams, AV Club: A poignant case study in the changing contours of gay life. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The movie over-blurs the line between plain and plaintive. It's not necessarily craziness you crave, it's inflection; it's need, if not from the characters then from the filmmaking. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: A complex and mysterious tale of a love affair, one that lacks the tidy story arc of a movie but feels real. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Lindhardt, sweet and childish and achingly vulnerable, gives a stunning performance. Read more

William Goss, Film.com: Bless [Sachs] for eschewing melodrama in favor of tenderness, but his characters are often left adrift in a sea of conflicting emotions. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A stiff central performance diminishes its emotional impact, but the visually alluring film's sensuality and tenderness give it a lingering spell. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: Sachs makes us feel the struggle as he exposes raw, complex emotions while avoiding cliches. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The two characters are ciphers, and the script, which Sachs co-wrote with Mauricio Zacharias, is by turns underwritten or banal. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: A nuanced portrait of emotional turmoil, persuasively acted, richly sensual one moment, wrenching the next ... Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Lindhardt pushes the picture into realms of such exposed intimacy, you almost feel like you're dating him yourself. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A tough, well-acted little indie ... Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: A gritty, devastating melodrama that chronicles an intense, complex, and heartrending relationship over the course of a decade. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: When you summon memories of this film, they are almost always of two men in a room, in a default state of discontent. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Not only does this film gloriously fulfill the potential that Ira Sachs has tantalized movie-lovers with for years, it also help explains what took him so long. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The cast, uniformly excellent, draws us into a vibrant, energetic Manhattan where commitments are forged and broken through sheer chance and those seeking permanence must continually resist temptation and ennui. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: 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. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A heart-breaking love story and call for emotional transparency in relationships. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Observing Erik face the inevitable, that loving a drug addict means always coming second to the substance, is heartbreaking and real. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: What makes Keep the Lights On more interesting than your average addiction story is the subtle suggestion that Erik's dependence on Paul and his messes is just as debilitating as Paul's taste for drugs. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: This is a painful drama, but its pain is more studied than emotive, and it demands that we think just as much as it makes us feel. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: It's hard to recall a film so attentive to the uncertain moments in all relationships: the teary Christmas toasts, the slow slide away from patience and tenderness. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Delicately tracing the troubled nine-year bond between two men living in New York, Ira Sachs mines his own memories to sensitive, melancholy if somewhat muted effect in Keep the Lights On. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Sachs creates an intensely intimate stew of fear, anger, longing, and regret. Read more

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: [A] haunting, melancholy relationship drama. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Such is the stuff of high drama, but "Keep the Lights On" maintains an oddly distant air. Read more