Keep the Lights On

In late-1990s New York City, gay Danish documentary-filmmaker Erik Rothman, has long ago ended his last serious relationship with a man named Paolo; since then he's had multiple one-night stands, making many of these connections through a gay-cruising telephone service. This is how he meets bisexual corporate lawyer Paul Lucy, who admits that he's already in a heterosexual relationship. Their initial sexual encounter is meant to be a one-time-only thing, but they slowly turn it into a relationship. The rollercoaster that is their relationship is presented over the next decade. The highs are fueled by their mutual sexual passion, the lows largely a manifestation of mistrust: what does the other do when absent?, Paul's frequent physical and emotional disappearances, and disagreements over whether Paul has a crack problem (crack seems to be incorporated into their lovemaking more and more). Their problems are exacerbated by each turning to comforts in their life--for Paul being more judgment-clouding drugs; for Eric the thoughts of being with other men (memories of Paolo, wondering about returning to the old telephone-cruising line).