“The Man I Love,” the Cannes entry from writer-director Ira Sachs, stars Rami Malek as Jimmy George, an HIV-positive gay performance artist and actor living through the late-1980s AIDS crisis in New York. Multiple outlets describe the film as a poetic, intimate portrait of art, desire, love, and mortality, set against the backdrop of Reagan-era homophobia. Reviews note that Jimmy is recently discharged from a life-threatening HIV-related hospital stay and is preparing a new stage work. The story also centers on his relationships, including a partnership with Tom Sturridge’s character and added strain after Luther Ford’s character enters the apartment building and complicates the existing dynamic. Several sources highlight the film’s downtown arts environment, with references to experimental theater and other artistic communities of the period. While most coverage points to strong performances and an affecting tone, one review in particular critiques Malek’s performance style as mannered, especially in singing scenes, while others describe him as compelling. The film’s title is drawn from the 1941 Raoul Walsh classic, as Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias explain.