The Man I Love, 2026.
Directed by Ira Sachs.
Starring Rami Malek, Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Maisy Stella, Sasha Lane, Isabel Sandoval, Lizbeth Mackay, Wesley Han, and Mohammad Ghaffari.
SYNOPSIS:
In 1980s NYC, an artist experiences a precious window between sickness and mortality – a time when beauty and love remain within reach.
Both a stronger showcase for Rami Malek as a gay man dying of AIDS and a singer, here he plays fictional performance artist Jimmy George in co-writer/director Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love. Like most of the filmmaker’s works (penning the screenplay here alongside Passages collaborator Mauricio Zacharias), it’s less driven by story and more by a mood, which here is about essentially using the space between health and illness, life and impending death to do what one loves until they die or are physically and mentally no longer capable.
As Ira Sachs put it, jokingly and with self-awareness, this is a movie based on a play and movie barely anyone has ever heard of, with Jimmy set to perform in a stage play, adapting it with a drag spin. Somewhere between desperately trying to remember his lines (there are several scenes of solo rehearsals and going over lines, which feels entirely truthful to acting in movies as well) and finding poignant meaning in them regarding his personal life, he is also being courted by Vincent (impressive newcomer Luther Ford, fitting right into an ensemble of reliable veterans), with current partner and caretaker Dennis (Tom Sturridge) perceiving that as a distraction and a doomed fling with no happy ending.
There are also some emotional beats with his sister Brenda (Rebecca Hall), thankful that he is currently healthy (it’s also mentioned that Jimmy survived a battle with pneumonia), but also devastated, processing that he is still on borrowed time. It’s a glorified cameo limited to the first act, but a worthwhile presence that fleshes out Jimmy’s exterior world (something I wish the film had done more of beyond the people in his life) and the 1980s gay community. As such, she and Rami Malek each get space for at least one truly moving singing performance, and Ira Sachs never lets the genre’s conventions of illness and death take over.
Ira Sachs is certainly one to indulge in a moment, so at times the pacing can be a bit of a test, and it’s also interesting that the filmmaker chose to create a fictional character and give Jimmy a stripped-down mythology and legacy, but that also has its pros and cons, as there is a feeling that there could have been more. Friction is present between Julie and his parents, but the addition feels like an afterthought.
The Man I Love also has a bit of a love triangle, with Jimmy receiving different kinds of affection, but it’s more about living life to the absolute fullest, even when the grim reaper is knocking on your door. Again, it’s a film more about living in specific moments than full-on narrative storytelling, which occasionally feels like a barrier here. However, it houses what is arguably Rami Malek’s best, most achingly human performance, and one much more deserving of his talent than the misfire of playing Freddie Mercury, despite winning an Oscar.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
