MIFF 2026: The Man I Love
Melbourne International Film Festival 2026 is ongoing and I went to watch my first session (of 14!)
This post my short review of ‘The Man I Love’. The first sections are spoiler free, then it'll be spoiler heavy as I discuss detailed points in the movie. Marked below.
For context: I am a photographer that wants to up my cinematography and storytelling, that’s why I’m watching 14 sessions at the film festival PLUS reviewing them here on my blog!
The first thing that drew me into 'The Man I Love' is Rami Malek. I'm a fan of his acting in 'Mr Robot' and in 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' The synopsis was intriguing as well, set in New York in the 1980s about a theatre artist HIV-positive man. I recently watched 'The Andy Warhol Diaries' series on Netflix, and the art world at that time in New York sounds so compelling. That was enough interest from me to book it, and now let's talk about what I thought after watching it!
All screen caps courtesy of the movie. All drawings are by me
Who would I recommend this to?
Lovers of melancholy drama movies. People that like art history, to a degree. People who like Rami Malek's acting won't be disappointed with his performance here. And lastly people who are looking to watch a movie to feel something as cathartic experience . The movie reminded me of one from last year's MIFF, 'Sorry, Baby'.
Structure
The structure feels a bit floaty. The narrative is not explicitly told. The audience need to piece together the story from knowing the synopsis and looking for hints throughout. Purposely, the story is not overly deep (I'll discuss it more below), and so the storytelling can be a bit more abstract. There are peak of emotional moments with scenes that I like, but they weren't turning points or climaxes - or at least didn't feel like it in a traditional sense. When the movie ended, it felt like I watched a fever dream - in a good way - it felt a bit abrupt like I just woke up but also felt like that was a beautiful dream to watch unfold.
Narrative
There's no great twists and turns, it's telling a story as it was written in the synopsis but the way it was told is the main point. I feel like because of that, the casting needs to be on point, and it was. Rami Malek was superb in playing Jimmy. The struggles that he had can really be seen and felt. Likewise with the other cast members, the storytelling felt great because of them. I think if the performances were off, the movie would fall apart because it'd be too 'boring' for lack of a better word.
Past this point, the review contains spoilers.
Cinematography
The cinematography feels so built-in to the story. The shots weren't particularly spectacular in a sense that they stand out, but it's meant to be that way. The way parties are pictured, the way characters move in the space, it feels so natural - and again, like watching a dream unfolding. That being said, there were two particularly interesting moments:
When Jimmy was helping Vincent move the mattress, the shot was from the side and straight on, and they move from left to right with walls sometimes covering them. It felt almost like a euphemism of the mattress penetrating through the space. Exacerbated by the way Vincent was out of breath at the end. Maybe I'm just over-interpreting it though.
The second one was when Dennis was confronting the doctors/nurses about taking Jimmy home and was blocked off from the elevator. It was a powerful moment. He's left behind by himself, feeling helpless about the situation and was not accepted in the world. The shot stayed there for a quite a while without dialogue, of Dennis feeling the anger and frustration about society.
Outro
To sum up, 'The Man I Love' has simple story with a complex background narrative and complex storytelling. The pieces are not shown in an explicit obvious manner. If you pay attention, and you will because of the engaging acting and cinematography, you'd feel something at the very least - like a fever dream.
