Releasing this Friday, Ira Sachs‘ Love is Strange is a ballad of two lovers named Ben and George (played by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, respectively) who, when forced to sell of their NYC apartment due to George losing his job, find themselves lost in a world unfamiliar. Ben is taken in by his nephew (Darren Burrows), his wife (Marisa Tomei), and his teenage son (Charlie Tahan), while George moves in with two cops (Manny Perez and Cheyenne Jackson), who live downstairs from the old apartment. The old fellows have a difficult time adjusting to their new environments, but at the end of the day, they know they can always find peace within their love for one another.

We spoke with Sachs in San Francisco about the film’s optimistic take on romance, Lithgow and Molina falling in love on set, the beauty of Chopin, the cyclical nature of love, “human” camera lenses, his experience in independent filmmaking, and more. Check out excerpts from the interview below, with the full clip at the bottom.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American, German, and Scandanavian rights to Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina. The film made its world premiere at Sundance to wide praise.

Here’s the plot synopsis, via SPC:

In LOVE IS STRANGE, Ben (Lithgow) and George (Molina) finally wed in Manhattan after 39 years together.  However, once the Catholic school where George has had a longtime job hears of the marriage, he is fired, and the couple is forced to move into two separate households as they can no longer afford their Manhattan apartment.  George moves in with two gay cops who live downstairs, and Ben moves to Brooklyn with his nephew, his wife, and their teenage son. While trying to find a new place to live together, Ben and George feel the pain of living apart while testing the strength of their relationships, both with each other and with those who have taken them in.

“I’m thrilled to be working with Michael, Tom and Dylan again,” said Sachs, “What was clear from our meetings is that they understand the film as a New York love story anchored by two powerhouse performances by Lithgow and Molina.”

“Filmmaker Ira Sachs, one of our most acute observers of humanity in modern times, has made his most accomplished film featuring two of the greatest actors in the English speaking world at the peak of their form. It is a privilege to collaborate with them on releasing LOVE IS STRANGE,” said Sony Pictures Classics.

LOVE IS STRANGE was negotiated with WME Global, marking this as their second sale with Sony Pictures Classics at Sundance following WHIPLASH.

Ira Sachs’ Keep The Lights On is a fictional drama that has a deeply personal background to it. Sachs was in a long-term relationship with Bill Clegg, a literary agent who had a crippling drug addiction. Clegg wrote about his struggles in a memoir that came out several years ago, and now Sachs has made a film that shows their tumultuous relationship from his perspective. While most of Keep The Lights On feels more distant than emotionally involving, it’s still a well-done relationship drama with an incredible lead performance.

Starting in 1998, Erik (Thure Lindhardt) is first seen talking on the phone looking for men to have sex with (think of it as a more primitive version of Grindr). He hooks up with Paul (Zachary Booth), a closeted lawyer for a book publisher who has a girlfriend. “Don’t get your hopes up” he tells Erik, but eventually they’re moving into a nice apartment together. While Erik is off making a documentary about an obscure queer artist named Avery Willard, the cracks in their partnership begin to form. The biggest issue is Paul’s addiction to crack-cocaine which Erik tries to save his boyfriend from repeatedly.

As the film spans over a decade we see Erik and Paul’s relationship go up and down. Paul goes to rehab but ends up relapsing, while Erik fruitlessly tries to play saviour and dabbles in bad behaviour on his own. Keep The Lights On feels episodic in nature as it leaps forward every 2-3 years, with Thure Lindhardt’s performance serving as the film’s anchor. Lindhardt portrays Erik as overly sensitive, a man who has to constantly fight over his love for Paul while putting up with the hell that comes with their partnership. After Erik wins an award for his documentary, his celebration is cut short when Paul vanishes for weeks. In one of the hardest scenes to watch, Erik eventually finds Paul in a hotel room and stubbornly refuses to leave, even putting up with Paul having sex with a hustler in the room next to him.

Years later, after a break-up, the two meet again. As they’re leaving Paul says they should go their separate ways, but Erik’s body language screams the opposite even as he agrees. The two end up getting back together yet again, but by this time the film and their relationship is moving towards its natural conclusion. The fact that Lindhardt can still evoke sympathy and understanding after putting up with situations people would run screaming from speaks volumes about the strength of his performance. Erik and Paul’s relationship may not have the emotional impact that Sachs was probably looking for, but Keep The Lights On is still well-made with a terrific cast supporting one of the year’s best performances.