Love lifts Rami Malek into the contender conversation
Ira Sachs’ 1980s-set drama, The Man I Love, premiered and immediately stirred Oscar buzz for its lead, Rami Malek. The film, which also stars Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, centers on a performer living with AIDS and marks Sachs’ second time in Cannes competition, following his 2019 feature Frankie.
David Rooney at The Hollywood Reporter described the project as an “achingly observed portrait of art, love, desire and mortality in 1980s New York City” and called Malek’s performance “a revelation,” while Deadline‘s Pete Hammond wrote, “Malek’s brave and wonderfully lived-in performance is one that will be long remembered, a career high for this Oscar-winning actor who simply inhabits this man with dignity and determination, his days limited but his spirit untouched.”
Malek previously won an Oscar for portraying another performer stricken with AIDS: Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Man I Love and James Gray’s Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson are the one of only two American features competing for the Palme d’Or at this year’s festival.
Ball bounces to the top
Directing duo Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo brought the Riviera to its feet with The Black Ball (La Bola Negra), earning the longest standing-O of the fest yet, ranging between 16 and 20 minutes, per various reports. The film, which features a star-studded cast, including Glenn Close and a notable extended cameo by Penélope Cruz, weaves a multigenerational narrative tracing the interconnected lives of three gay men across 1932, 1937, and 2017.
“Ninety years ago, Federico García Lorca was killed by fascism because he was gay. So, to everyone who thinks that we are gonna step back in our LGBT rights, we have bad news. Because we are here to stay,” the filmmakers said after the applause died down. “So, thank you. Cannes Festival, thank you. Long live Cannes. For the opportunity, thank you. May we all truly know that we are in the same fight.”
Along with Close and Cruz, the drama features Spanish singer-songwriter Guitarricadelafuente in his screen debut, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, and Lola Dueñas.
A new scream queen?
Meanwhile, Maika Monroe is stirring up a different kind of buzz on the Croisette. Her new horror film, Victorian Psycho, debuted in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section on Thursday, the same day the film’s first trailer was unleashed. Based on the novel by Virginia Feito, the psychological thriller promises a blood-soaked gothic tale. According to the film’s official synopsis: “When eccentric governess Winifred (Monroe) arrives at a remote gothic manor in Victorian England, her unnerving charm hides a deadly secret. Strange, unsettling incidents become harder to ignore as Winifred descends into madness, and her increasingly brutal acts shatter the calm of the estate. How far will this psycho killer go, and who will survive her wrath?”
Updated Standing-O Scoreboard
| Film | Length of ovation* |
| The Black Ball (La Bola Negra) | 17.5 |
| Fjord | 10 |
| Garance | 10 |
| All of a Sudden | 9 |
| Minotaur | 9 |
| Paper Tiger | 9 |
| The Man I Love | 9 |
| Her Private Hell | 8.5 |
| The Beloved | 7 |
| Bitter Christmas | 7 |
| Club Kid | 7 |
| Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma | 7 |
| Hope | 6.5 |
| Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern | 6 |
| Parallel Tales | 6 |
| Victorian Psycho | 6 |
| Ashes | 5 |
| Fatherland | 5 |
| Full Phil | 5 |
| Sheep in the Box | 3.5 |
*averaged from published reports
