Keep the Lights On

I saw the indie film Keep the Lights On and found it interesting.  I also had a troubling reaction to it that I'll explain.  First, for those who don't know, the movie focuses on the relationship between a documentary filmmaker and his boyfriend who works in publishing and is also addicted to crack.  It's based on the real relationship between filmmaker Ira Sachs and literary agent Bill Clegg.  I read Bill Clegg's autobiography about being in drugs during his relationship with Sachs, so I was curious to see the movie version from Sachs's point of view.  The movie version was a lot more graphic than I thought it would be, but I quickly got over that.  Throughout the movie, you get a front row seat to witness the trials and tribulations of this couple as they deal with one partner's drug addiction.  While I did feel sympathy for the director who was in a constant state of worry over his boyfriend who would disappear for days on a drug binge, I actually felt a little more sympathy for the drug addict. In spite of his addiction, he managed to hold down a job, something he constantly threw in the face of his filmmaker boyfriend who didn't work a regular job, had been working on a documentary for years, and whose income seemed largely bankrolled by his family.  I think I found myself taking the side of the addict more because, as previously mentioned, (A) he held down a job, (B) he actually seemed to be the practical person in the relationship (except when he was drugged out, of course),  (C) he was American (the filmmaker boyfriend was German), and (D) he was better looking.  I'll admit it, one of the reasons I felt more sympathy for the crack addict was because he was better looking.  That's terrible, I know, but it's the truth.