Tag: Peter Hujar’s Day

Oscar Predictions: The Man I Love

As a theater actor in the late 80s dying of the AIDS virus, Rami Malek headlines The Man I Love. It premiered at Cannes Film Festival and is the latest drama from Ira Sachs, maker of the Passages and Peter Hujar’s Day. Costars include Tom Sturridge, Luther Ford, Rebecca Hall, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

WME Independent is handling stateside distribution likely for this fall. Don’t be surprised if it pops up at future fests (especially New York’s). With 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and 78 on Metacritic, critics are appreciative. However, the buzz doesn’t cause me to believe Best Picture is in play and that it’ll be Sachs’s first major awards breakout.

That is with one possible exception. Malek is drawing particular praise in some write-ups saying it’s a career best performance. Eight years ago, he took home Best Actor as Freddie Mercury in the blockbuster Bohemian Rhapsody. Since then, he’s yet to have a follow-up role that the Academy would notice. If WME can run a worthwhile campaign and if competition isn’t too steep, he could be viable for one of the five spots. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Oscar Predictions: Peter Hujar’s Day

Critics are liking the hang for Peter Hujar’s Day out of Sundance, the latest feature from indie auteur Ira Sachs. The two-hander casts Ben Whishaw in the title role of the real-life photographer known for his work in the 1970s and 80s. Rebecca Hall is his writer friend.

Originally meant to be a short film, it still is definitionally at a brisk 76 minutes. This is Sachs’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2023 Passages, which collected four Independent Spirit Awards including Best Film and Mr. Whishaw in Supporting Actor.

Known to many moviegoers as Q from Daniel Craig’s 007 run (or the voice of Paddington), Whishaw is getting lots of Park City praise for his lead role. The pic itself stands at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 85 on Metacritic. Like Passages, I’d say this is more Indie Spirit friendly than Oscar. The eventual distributor might be wise to campaign in that space. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…