This film is part of Rentals

Love Is Strange
Ira Sachs’s refined Manhattan-set drama sees Alfred Molina’s Ben and John Lithgow’s George in the latter days of a tender, loving 39-year relationship.
Director: Ira Sachs
Overview
Ira Sachs (Keep the Lights On) delivers a tender, faultlessly observed drama about the latter days of a life-long love. The film opens with the joyous wedding of George and Ben (Alfred Molina and John Lithgow) who have been together for 39 years, but when Ben loses his job the couple are forced to leave their Manhattan abode and stay in different apartments while they hunt for a new place of their own.
Both leads give nuanced, award-deserving performances, as does Marisa Tomei as their niece. George and Ben may inhabit a familiar Manhattan of West Side shoebox apartments, galleries and classical concerts, but it’s refreshingly peopled with all walks of life. This is a love story for grown-ups and also Sachs’ ode to the beauty of NYC.
Related

The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.

Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.

Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.

Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.

Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.

Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.

Still Alice Still Alice
Drama 2014 102 mins Director: Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
Julianne Moore won an Oscar for her extraordinary performance as a linguistics professor diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The Imitation Game The Imitation Game
Biopic 2014 115 mins Director: Morten Tyldum
Benedict Cumberbatch’s roundly acclaimed performance anchors the incredible, Oscar-winning story of code-breaker Alan Turing.

The Wolfpack The Wolfpack
Documentary 2015 90 mins Director: Crystal Moselle
Meet the Angulos: seven siblings imprisoned for most of their childhoods who learnt much of life’s lessons from film and TV; the subjects of this captivating documentary.

Man Up Man Up
Comedy 2015 88 mins Director: Ben Palmer
Simon Pegg’s date is hijacked by Lake Bell in this effervescent urban comedy, a fresh twist on the British rom-com.

Paddington Paddington
Children's 2014 95 mins Director: Paul King
Unexpectedly beautiful and bewitching return for the marmalade-loving bear with a sense of adventure.

Meantime Meantime
Drama 1983 107 mins Director: Mike Leigh
Tim Roth, Phil Daniels and Gary Oldman star in Mike Leigh’s TV film about an East End family try to stay afloat during a recession.

Prick Up Your Ears Prick Up Your Ears
Biopic 1987 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A celebration of outrageous British playwright Joe Orton’s irreverent and charismatic talent, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina.

Frankie Frankie
Romance 2019 100 mins Director: Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs' utterly engaging romantic drama starring Isabelle Huppert as a celebrated actress who gathers her disparate family on an unexpectedly emotional retreat.

Little Men Little Men
Drama 2016 85 mins Director: Ira Sachs
Ira Sachs’ poignant drama about how money affects relationships follows an artistic family’s attempts to attune to a new Brooklyn neighbourhood.

Keep the Lights on Keep the Lights on
Drama 2012 102 mins Director: Ira Sachs
A filmmaker escapes the pain of a break-up through casual sex and meets a closeted lawyer in this deeply personal work from Ira Sachs.

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Documentary 100 mins Director: Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter
A creative artist couple navigate love and ageing in this brave, fascinating documentary.

The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.

Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnson’s poetic documentary on the country’s love affair with the motorbike.

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish band’s expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.

Flow Flow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 85 mins Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Oscar-winning animated adventure about an unlikely group of animals who must work together to survive a natural disaster.

Invasion Invasion
Science Fiction 1966 79 mins Director: Alan Bridges
An alien fugitive, injured in a road accident, pitches up at a rural hospital. But when two intergallactic pursuers arrive, things start to heat up...