The Man I Love

Sachs has not made an AIDS movie we’ve seen a million times, largely because it’s not so much a movie about death as one about wringing every last drop out of life, whether it’s fuel for creativity, love or one last surge of passion and pleasure.

Malek is something of a wonder here, in a career best performance and the most adventurous thing he’s done since Mr. Robot.

Sachs, co-writing the film per usual with Mauricio Zacharias, has a deep investment in the Manhattan arts scene of the period that pays off in terms of the drama’s immersiveness.

There's no doubt that Sachs is a master when it comes to crafting a stirring narrative. From the script, which he penned with long-time collaborator Mauricio Zacharias, to the vivid cinematography by Josée Deshaies (who was also behind the camera on last year's Urchin), The Man I Love embraces the art of filmmaking to its highest degree.

It’s an honest, melancholy tale that pushes against the typical idea of the saintlike sufferer, instead portraying the central character as a credibly flawed individual. And just as he always does, Ira Sachs rejects stereotypes and expectations to deliver something that feels candidly close to life.

Jimmy is a compulsively magnetic figure who keeps everyone at arm’s length, including the audience, and for a film that embodies a voluptuous sense of tragedy, that leaves it undeniably aloof.

The Man I Love is an honestly intended and conceived movie, but that faintly baffling and strenuous lead performance sits uncomfortably.