Ira Sachs‘ The Man I Love received a rousing standing ovation — 7 minutes plus — when it premiered Wednesday night in the main competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, with the film’s director and cast — Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford — ascending the Palais des Festivals steps for the evening’s gala screening.
Set in New York circa 1984, The Man I Love centers on Jimmy George (Malek), a beloved queer entertainer living with AIDS who refuses to stop working — and is determined to mount a new theatrical production as time runs short. His world is anchored by his devoted partner Dennis (Sturridge) and complicated by a simmering affair with a younger neighbor, Vincent, played by Luther Ford in a beguiling feature-film debut.
The premiere audience applauded through the credits and then roared as the lights came up. Malek, making his debut at the festival, seemed particularly overwhelmed. As a camera zoomed in on his face, his eyes filled with tears, before he slowly turned in a circle as if trying to commit the entire theater to memory. Soon, he appeared to get uncomfortable and dissolved into a grin, trying to pass off the spotlight to anyone in reach: Sachs, costars Tom Sturridge and Luther Ford, and even festival director Thierry Frémaux.
