Malek almost passed on Ira Sachs’ AIDS-era Cannes drama 'The Man I Love,' fearing comparisons to his Oscar-winning turn as Freddie Mercury in 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'

Rami Malek plays a performance artist who has AIDS in Ira Sachs's delicate and touching '80s character study.

Cannes film festival: Sachs’ film about an HIV-positive actor in the homophobic Reagan-era 80s is well-intended, but Malek’s mannered performance is hard to love