Film Review: THE MAN I LOVE: Rami Malek is Exceptional in a Story of a Tortured Artist’s Last Days [NYFF 2026]

Thomas Duffy September 18, 2026Last Updated: September 18, 2026

The Man I Love Review

The Man I Love (2026) Film Review from the 64th Annual New York Film Festival, a movie directed by Ira Sachs, written by Mauricio Zacharias and Ira Sachs and starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, Maisy Stella, Luther Ford, Sasha Lane, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Amy Carlson, Lizbeth Mackay, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mohammad Ghaffari, Wesley Han, Dennis Courtis, Reece dos Santos, Ben Green and Rayly Aquino.

Filmmaker Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love brings to life a profound movie about a tortured performer’s struggle with AIDS in New York City. Rami Malek stars in the film as the quintessential NYC artist, Jimmy George, a man who is fighting to live every day to the fullest. The Man I Love effectively casts Malek opposite Tom Sturridge, who plays his lover, Dennis, a guy who is trying to take care of Jimmy the best way that he possibly can. It’s a job that would challenge anyone, given Jimmy’s unpredictable nature, which can change at any given time.

Jimmy is a ball of energy. He is passionate about life, but suffers due to his deteriorating physical health. When a new man, Vincent (Luther Ford), takes a keen interest in Jimmy, a relationship will be tested and hearts may be broken along the way. Jimmy is just that type of heartbreaker, who can love with his full self, but can also be wildly unpredictable from move to move.

Featured as Jimmy’s sister, Brenda, is Rebecca Hall in a fine turn. Brenda comes to celebrate time with Jimmy and his friends and family. There’s a great sequence reminiscent of the Karaoke scene in Lost in Translation where people get together and interact with one another in an emotionally satisfying way. Brenda lets her passion guide her, and it’s one of Sachs’ best scenes when Brenda gets to perform at the dinner table.

Though there is a love triangle of sorts, there’s no question who the better man for Jimmy is. Dennis is a dedicated person and he puts himself pretty much one hundred percent in the relationship he has with Jimmy, a performer who is as sincere as he is erratic. Sturridge is terrific in his role, especially late in the movie where he deals with the medical professionals who will not give him the straight answer he wants regarding when Jimmy will be released from the hospital.

The Man I Love is a New York-themed movie that gets almost everything about the decade it is set in (the 1980’s) correct. It’s a time and place where AIDS is eating through Jimmy as he tries to do what he loves the most and beat the illness which limits his time on this earth. This is one of Ira Sachs’ most mature films to date, and it showcases a performance by Malek that is absolutely unforgettable.

One of the best scenes has Dennis confront Vincent about his new interaction with Jimmy. Dennis lays out how Jimmy is on heavy medication and requires extra attention that Vincent may not be able to give him. There’s also the matter of the disease itself and the many complexities of it.

Another phenomenal scene has Jimmy wearing a wig as he is performing, but he comes to forget the lines and needs a moment to break away from rehearsal. This is a follow-up to this sequence where he is performing in front of an audience that is absolutely heart-shattering and Malek plays it to perfection.

Ira Sachs carefully constructs Jimmy’s story as a hopeful one rather than a sorrowful one. At the end, we meet a man briefly and he’s played perfectly by Reece dos Santos. This guy takes an interest in dancing with Vincent, who is going through something profound, himself. There is a choice to end the movie with these characters that is absolutely inspiring for a story as moving as the one told in this film. It leaves the audience with the impression that cherishing the beautiful moments of life can make it all worthwhile despite the hardships that can be regularly endured.

Also, in support, Maisy Stella shines as Leslie, a friend of Jimmy’s, who helps set the story line into motion at the film’s outset. There is a solid cast of performers employed in The Man I Love, which becomes a moving tale of perseverance and how one man is trying to triumph against all odds, even when hope is almost all gone and slipping through his fingers.

Malek eats into this role with raw intensity. He becomes Jimmy in such a way that one will feel as if he’s actually a friend. Malek is able to embody the artistry of the character and make him shine as a man we would want to know and help while he’s suffering from his ailments. Sturridge is the real surprise, though, as he creates the backbone of the story, as Dennis tries his best to hold on to all the love that remains in the last days of Jimmy’s existence on this earth. Ford also brings the flawed Vincent to life quite satisfactorily as well.

The Man I Love goes for the jugular and succeeds in making one emotionally invested in this complex and wrenching journey. There’s never a moment that feels manufactured with no particular purpose in mind. This is a film which is ultimately about joy, pain and suffering and all life’s little moments in-between that make it worth living. This film is highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10

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