“The Man I Love”
(USA/France)
Screened at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival (2/5)
OutLook Competition, Silver Q-Hugo Award winner
Letterboxd (2/5), Imdb.com (4/10), TMDB.com (4/10), Imdb.com critics review
#BrentMarchant #TheManILove #ChiFilmFest #RamiMalek #IraSachs #AIDScrisis #LGBTQcinema #actorperformanceartist #RebeccaHall #late1980sNewYork #Passages #KeeptheLightsOn #LoveIsStrange #PeterHujarsDay #consistency #auteur #CannesFilmFestival #SilverQHugoAward
Ordinarily speaking, consistency in filmmaking is viewed as admirable. However, it’s possible to turn that notion around, too, where a director produces works that are consistently underwhelming. And, regrettably, when it comes to that idea, the name that most readily surfaces for me is filmmaker Ira Sachs, an auteur known for his productions in the genre of LGBTQ+ cinema. While I admit to having enjoyed “Passages” (2023), over the years, I have been roundly disappointed by such other undercooked efforts as “Keep the Lights On” (2012), “Love Is Strange” (2014) and “Peter Hujar’s Day” (2025). And now the writer-director’s latest can be added to that list. “The Man I Love” examines the life of actor/performance artist Jimmy George (Rami Malek) in late 1980s New York during the explosion of the AIDS crisis. Jimmy suffers from the disease – and nearly died from it – but managed to stabilize his health thanks to the kind but unappreciated care and support of his partner, Dennis (Tom Sturridge), and the love but largely absent presence of his sister, Brenda (Rebecca Hall). With his condition seemingly under control, he resumes pursuing his art and his capricious promiscuous ways, engaging in an affair with an obsessed new neighbor, Vincent (Luther Ford), leaving Dennis callously out in the cold. Jimmy also struggles with anger and resentment toward his parents, who apparently treated him badly for his lifestyle during his upbringing, feelings he’s held back for years. However, as captivating as all of these story threads are, they deserve far greater development than they’re given here. It’s as if the film skims the surface of these themes, never exploring them with any particular depth, a trait that runs through the narratives of most of Sachs’s titles. Instead, viewers are presented with snapshots of these tangents, strung together with incidental material that adds little to the overall story or Jimmy’s character development. Motivations are shallow and scant, and some characters (like Brenda) are given little to do. Audiences are thus left knowing comparatively little about the protagonist and his entourage or what makes his story particularly compelling, again, not unlike the characters seen in many of the filmmaker’s other projects. To the picture’s credit, it treats the AIDS-related material with deft sensitivity and nuance, and Malek makes the most of the material he’s been given to work with (although that isn’t saying much). And, for its part, this offering captured this event’s Silver Q-Hugo Award and earned two nominations at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Sadly, however, in “The Man I Love,” viewers once again get hints that the director may well be on to something significant and meaningful, but these nuggets of brilliance and insight never coalesce into a coherent or engaging whole. Indeed, I keep waiting for Sachs to come up with a picture that lives up to the simmering potential that seems to underlie all of his efforts – but that we have yet to see.