New York Film Festival Review: The Man I Love (2026)

In 1980s NYC, an artist experiences a precious window between sickness and mortality – a time when beauty and love remain within reach

The Man I Love is directed by Ira Sachs director of The Delta (1996), Little Men (2016), Frankie (2019), Passages (2023), Peter Hujar’s Day (2025) and a few others. 

The Man I Love was the last film I watched at the New York Film Festival (there are still 4 films left that I have not reviewed yet) and it was pretty strong one to end on. This is a film that celebrates art and the lives lost during the AIDs crisis in the 80s, what makes the film are its performances and sense of community that are strongly present throughout the film. 

As someone who is not typically a fan of Rami Malek, I must say he really surprised me here. Malek plays Jimmy George a man who despite knowing he only has a certain amount of time left due to his AIDS complications, he works on a new project with his theater group. This is quite honestly a career best worthy performance for Malek, there is one scene in which Rami Malek at a family gathering sings a heart-wrenching cover of Melanie’s 1970 song “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma” it’s easily my favorite moment of the film due to how you can just feel the pain and sadness in Malek’s voice. He’s trying incredibly hard to push through everything and wants to bring love and joy to the people around him. It’s a phenomenal performance that will leave you in tears. 

Tom Sturridge gets a difficult role here but nails it with balancing this tenderness as well as anger when it’s required. Newcomer Luthor Ford is excellent here and goes on this journey, he plays this selfish character who by the end of the film does realize his mistakes and regrets. A lot of great character moments here that truly add up to a ton of investing scenes. 

The sense of community is really what makes this film, the closeness that Jimmy George and his theater group have and the art of theater that they celebrate and make together is truly excellent and beautiful. When the moments of devastation happens with Jimmy, they feel very impactful due to how much we know that Jimmy loves his community, the theme of doing what you love most during your final days of life is established very early on in the film and it’s quite beautifully executed. 

The Man I Love is a film full of love and life but the cloud of sadness hangs over it, the film has this love and life vs sadness like element going on here that truly reflects in the atmosphere. There is so much heart poured into the whole experience that it only makes it all the more heartbreaking when arrive to the moments of sadness and struggle. 

Overall, The Man I Love is an excellent film that really captures this sense of community, love and sadness. Rami Malek’s performance is top notch and the film itself is an experience that is absolutely looking into.

The Man I Love currently has no distribution or release date.

9/10 A

Quick Review: Tony (2026)

A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.

Tony is directed by Matt Johnson director of The Dirties (2013), Operation Avalanche (2016), Blackberry (2023) and Nirvana the band the show the movie (2026).

Having two films directed by the same director come out in the same year is not very rare, however two excellent films by the same director coming out in the same year is actually quite rare (that was a mouthful.) 

The approach Matt Johnson took here with an Anthony Bourdain biopic is quite fascinating, it’s not one of those biopics that likes to hyper focus on going down the checklist of cliches or the basic retelling of a Wikipedia page. There is so much heart going on in this film and wanting to really sink in this love for cooking. 

The performances are what make this such an excellent experience, Dominic Sessa once again delivers such a fantastic performance and captures this coming of age aspect as well as Bourdain in his younger years. There is one particular moment in the film where you feel his love for cooking taking form and it’s quite honestly such a beautiful moment. No talking, the score is absent just love for this kitchen that not only Bourdain feels but you as the viewer do as well. Sessa is fascinating throughout the film and that never changes at all. 

The supporting cast are just as great, Antonio Banderas serves as this mentor figure who we slowly get to learn about as the film goes on, he is by far the heart of the film that cuts through Tony’s ego and points him in a direction that is incredibly beneficial. Leo Woodall has some scene stealers that are genuinely surprising. Leo Woodall disappears for a good portion of the second act of the film, but he leaves a lasting impression that is quite strong. The scenes of him and Sessa slowly bonding and talking with one another are some of his most strongest. Even if Emilia Jones’s character is a bit bare bones, she still delivers a strong performance. 

I do like the coming of age story elements being used here, we slowly but surely see a 19 year old Anthony Bourdain mature over the course of the film, this is written quite naturally and really helps reflect Tony’s journey. There is truly something remarkable here with how Johnson directs the film, he wants this sense of rawness of maturing and realizing that your ego can be your own worst enemy. This is not earthshaking information, but the way it’s executed and presented is so well done. 

Overall, Tony is a fascinating film that is not your usual biopic. Between the performances, direction and the script there is so much to really love here. 

Tony is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

New York Film Festival Review: Bucking Fastard (2026)

Jean and Joan Holbrooke are two sisters who are so close they speak in unison, love the same man, and have the same dreams. In search of an imaginary land – where true love is possible – they start digging through an entire mountain range.

Bucking Fastard is directed by Werner Herzog director of Signs Of Life (1968), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Invincible (2001), Rescue Dawn (2006), Queen Of The Desert (2015) and many others. 

Bucking Fastard is an incredibly weird one, which is not exactly a surprise when it comes to Werner Herzog. Part of what makes Herzog such a fascinating filmmaker is you never really know what you are getting into with his films, he likes to keep this air of mystery. That’s very present with Bucking Fastard a film that ends up being not only bizarre but very strangely charming. 

The whole main idea here is that Kate Mara and Rooney Mara play sisters who talk in sync throughout the film, it’s truly a quite unique type of performance that they both nail masterfully. They are charming, hilarious and bring the bizarre atmosphere that the film requires, when the two aren’t in sync (that only happens a few times throughout the film) they are still quite fantastic. Kate and Mara are both already fantastic actresses, when combined together they deliver this fun and quite investing performance that makes you stay in this film’s bizarre world. It’s undeniably an impressive type of performance to pull off so wonderfully, some of my favorite work the Mara sisters have ever done. 

Narratively the film might be a little bit on the thin side, but there is so much going on with the setting and atmosphere that it truly makes up for it. The setting has this “let’s discover the beauty of the world” type of feel going on, cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger does such a fantastic job of capturing these huge open fields, these wonderfully detailed caves and the beautiful mountains. There is this sense of wonder and exploration that the viewer feels while looking around these environments and it all adds up to this beautiful experience that you still want to explore after the film ends. 

The atmosphere is both bizarre and incredibly charming, there is this sense of charm from Jean (played by Kate Mara) and Joan (played by Rooney Mara) especially with their humor and how they see and explore the world around them. It’s this bizarre ode to earnestness that really wins the viewer over by the end of the film and closes out the film with a sweet ending that felt like this strange but beautiful journey we went on with the sisters. 

Overall, Bucking Fastard is quite a strong film and embraces its weirdness right from the start and then goes into the charming territory. As I said narratively there is not a whole lot going on here, but just about everything else about this film makes the experience worth it. 

Bucking Fastard currently has no distributor

8/10 B+

Whalefall (2026) Film Review

Follows a scuba diver who, while looking for his father’s remains, is swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has just one hour to get out before his oxygen runs out.

Whalefall is directed by Brian Duffield director of Spontaneous (2020) and No One Will Save You (2023). 

I am actually quite surprised by Whalefall, It’s not just a survival thriller about a man that is swallowed alive by a sperm whale. There’s more going on here, mainly this exploration of a relationship with a parent that is toxic. The film is not anything we have not seen before, but I do think when you combine all of the film’s elements together you get some quite strong.

Austin Abrams delivers a strong performance here, he captures the absolute fear and absolute worry that any person would have if they were in his position. We mainly get Abrams making breathing sounds and slight screams during the insides of the whale portion, but his body language and the breathing sounds tell you everything you need to know of how he is feeling. We also get flashbacks of his character Jay and the toxic relationship with his father Mitt (played by Josh Brolin), these scenes are also quite effective in really diving (no pun intended) into the relationship and their character’s.

Josh Brolin is also quite great here, he provides the tension and this complicated edge for Mitt. The relationship is toxic yes, but slowly but surely throughout the film we see some rebuilding and those are some of Brolin’s best moments. Which leads into the quite beautiful third act that ends on such sweet and actually quite endearing note.

The atmosphere is near perfect, the claustrophobic feel from inside of the whale is felt throughout the film and really brings the whole atmosphere front and center into the action. The sound design during one scene in particular is absolutely painful to listen to (I actually cringed during this moment) it’s one of those moments where it does feel like you are right there with Jay. 

The writing can undoubtedly feel a bit underwhelming at times, but that really does not stop the film from having a strong heart as well as being incredibly thrilling. I do think the metaphor of being trapped in a whale with the father and son relationship is quite neat and actually surprises in some areas. You could probably guess that is what the film is going for as some earlier moments are not that subtle, however it’s not quite enough to give it all away or ruin it for the viewer. 

Overall, Whalefall works quite well. The inside of the whale scenes are hellish and automatically builds this thrilling atmosphere. The flashbacks are great character moments that might not be anything groundbreaking, but they move the story along at strong pace and ultimately leave the viewer satisfied. 

Whalefall is currently in theaters!

8/10 B+

New York Film Festival Review: A Long Winter (2026)

Set in the 1950s Mountain West, the story follows a family unraveling after a son departs for military service and an isolated mother disappears into a seasonal blizzard, triggering a profound emotional reckoning and journey of growth for young Mike.

A Long Winter is directed by Andrew Haigh director of Greek Pete (2009), Weekend (2011), 45 Years (2015), Lean On Pete (2017) and All Of Us Strangers (2023). 

A Long Winter is one of those films where you are either going to walk out of it thinking it was interesting or you found it not very engaging. I can absolutely see why someone would find it not very engaging, it’s a complete whiplash from Haigh’s previous film All Of Us Strangers in that it’s a much more of a slow burn and relies a lot more environment to tell the story. 

The performances are all quite great here, particularly Fred Hechinger and Ebon Moss-Bacharach who turn scenes that otherwise might not be that investing into some quite investing moments that tell the story through this quiet nature. Hechinger delivers this beautiful and fragile performance, while Bacharach delivers this grounded and fierce performance of a father named Lester who tries to retain order, he constantly has this tension with his son Mike (played by Fred Hechinger). Both performances do such a fascinating job of complimenting the film’s cold atmosphere that is truly effective and only adds more as the film goes on. 

What’s mainly helping this film is film’s fantastic use of a landscape, the snowy environment does such a beautiful job of really telling the story for the viewer and does not really need the script to paint the entire picture. The earlier mentioned atmosphere also helps the film, this winter atmosphere with some beautiful shots of the outdoors (thanks to cinematographer André Turpin) is so well done and just captivating. The lighting does a fantastic job of describing the different moods going on here, whether it’s low lighting during some of the film’s more quiet moments or darker lighting during the more intense moments. There is always at least something truly interesting going on with the camera and the lighting. 

Overall, A Long Winter can definitely be bit too slow at times. However if you can get past that, the film does award you with a very strong third act that delivers some quite investing moments. 

A Long Winter releases December 4th in select theaters and January 22nd 2027 everywhere.

8/10 B+

Quick Review: Linkin Park: Unshatter (2026)

After seven years, Linkin Park’s surviving members reunite with two new bandmates to forge a path forward following Chester Bennington’s death. Through studio sessions, performances, and interviews, a journey of healing and reinvention.

Linkin Park: Unshatter is directed by Joesph Hahn director of Mall (2014) and a whole lot of music videos. 

Right off the bat I do want to say that there is indeed going to be a bit of bias here, Linkin Park is a band I’ve been a fan of since I was a kid. When it comes to music artists, Linkin Park has always been in my top ten. Anyways this film was sort of a surprise release only being announced in August 6th 2026 and then being released September 30th. 

Linkin Park: Unshatter is essentially about finding a path to heal as well as taking huge swings that pay off tremendously. How you can take tragedy and push forward to a bright future. In this case the tragedy being Chester Bennington’s death in 2017, we get a glimpse as to what was going through the rest of the band’s minds and how painful it was at first. To say Bennington’s death was a surprise would be a huge understatement and you can really tell from the rest of the band’s faces and reactions that was the case. 

The finding a path to heal part of the documentary comes in with Emily Armstrong, the documentary does such a fantastic job at showing how dedicated Armstrong really is and that she wants to bring her own sense of direction rather than just trying to be Bennington. In fact Mike Shinoda (co-founder of Linkin Park) flat out says in the documentary that the whole “just find someone that sounds exactly like Chester Bennington” mindset is ridiculous, it’s clear that what they have Emily Armstrong is what they needed in the moment and as a result it landed beautifully. 

As a documentary, the filmmaking isn’t anything to write home about however it makes up for that with the love the band has for each other and the beautiful moments of them just being friends and interacting with another. It’s such a great look at this band that has grown such a huge and dedicated fanbase, seeing them rise again after such a devastating tragedy is truly remarkable and quite inspiring. 

Overall, Linkin Park: Unshatter is a very strong documentary that is well done and has a ton of heart. This is a must for any fan!

Linkin Park: Unshatter is currently in theaters. 

8/10 B+

New York Film Festival Review: The Unknown (2026)

Photographer David Zimmerman rarely leaves home until friends bring him to a wild party. He becomes fixated on a mysterious woman and follows her. By dawn, his life transforms-he awakens in her body.

The Unknown is directed by Arthur Harari director of Dark Inclusion (2015) and Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (2021). 

When I walked out of The Unknown I did not like it all that much, I said in my initial reaction that “the film only ever lands in the fine enough territory” which isn’t quite accurate. While I still have my issues with it (particularly the incredibly long runtime) I do think the positives outweigh the negatives, especially when you factor in the strong performances particularly from Léa Seydoux. It’s a weird body swap film that is quite the experience. 

The performances are quite excellent and are what easily bring the viewer into the film, Léa Seydoux goes all in on her performance, watching her wandering around Paris in a new body (which she is trying to get used to) and also trying to find who or what took her old one is quite fascinating, Seydoux’s performance truly has this air of mystery to it that you don’t often see in a lot of performances, she matches the atmosphere and tone of the film as well. The sex scenes in particular range from awkward, funny and even quite devastating given the context of the story, Seydoux also does a fascinating job with the film’s more darkly comedic elements that are genuinely hilarious. 

The writing is quite interesting, at times it does feel like the film is holding back and could go even further. But in many other moments the film embraces its weird premise and goes all in, adding so much layer of mystery and these quiet scenes that either lighten or darken the mood depending on the character’s actions. There is one particular moment in the film that is quite sad, it has this theme of witnessing the people you love move on with their life without you, it’s heartbreaking and genuinely effective. 

The cinematography from Tom Harari also gives this film a large in scale feel that is striking and effective, Paris feels even bigger and a tough task to navigate. The dark void like atmosphere where anything can happen is fully present here and starts to affect David (played by Léa Seydoux). The final 10 minutes of the film is quite devastating and easily some of the film’s strongest moments. 

Overall, The Unknown is quite great. The 140 minute runtime can feel like a slog and not everything in the script fully works, but between the performance from Léa Seydoux, the weirdness, atmosphere and humor the film ultimately works! 

The Unknown currently has no release date.

7/10 B

New York Film Festival Review: Misty Green (2026)

Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act.

Misty Green is directed by Chris Rock director of Head Of State (2003), I Think I Love My Wife (2007) and Top Five (2014). 

Misty Green immediately caught my attention mainly because of two things, Rosalind Eleazer being in the leading role (I love Slow Horses) and Chris Rock in the director’s chair. I appreciate how different Misty Green is from the rest of Rock’s previous directing efforts and to some degree this is a success but in others it leaves a lot more to be desired. 

The performances all around are quite great even some like Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick just do not get a whole lot to do. Driver has I guess what you could call a big-ish (that’s being generous) scene towards the end of the film but ultimately still feels like we are missing a lot of pieces to the puzzle for his character. Rosalind Eleazar and Daniel Kaluuya are the ones whose performances have the real meat on the bones and are the ones who save this film (especially Eleazar).

Rosalind Eleazar gives this confident and striking performance as Misty Green, this is very much her story and the film makes that abundantly clear as soon as the film starts. Her performance leans into the sensational territory as the film moves along and we see Eleazar’s Misty Green interact with the world around her and the other characters. The way Eleazar can speak with her piercing eyes is truly remarkable, there are times where Chris Rock struggles with his own script and Eleazar is easily able to elevate the material so that the viewer can follow along so much better. Even with some terrible lines, Eleazar is able to salvage it and lean into some quite surprising moments that are genuinely well done. This is most certainly a star-making performance that I guarantee you that if you walk out of this film, the one part you will love is Eleazar’s performance. 

Daniel Kaluuya as Jay/Jordan Green, Misty Green’s brother who is bipolar gives such an excellent performance. He provides a lot of necessary empathy for a character who is quite challenging, some of the film’s best moments are with both Eleazar and Kaluuya sharing the screen and bringing this striking energy to the film, I do wish we got to see a lot more of Kaluuya and learn more about him. But from what is presented it works well and is enough to satisfy the viewer. 

The script is definitely a mixed bag although I lean towards more on the positive side, I do appreciate having some strong moments of telling the struggle of modern Hollywood for Black Women (although I do agree that the film does not go far enough with this) and I do like the look at homelessness. The film does this juxtaposition of Misty’s situation with that of the unhoused on the streets of LA, it’s not subtle at all and it never gets any deeper than the film just acknowledging that homelessness exists but I do think it overall works in the end.

Overall, Misty Green is fine enough for a movie about Hollywood. This is not anything particularly new but Rosalind Eleazar’s performance makes the film worth the watch, had it not been for Eleazar’s powerful performance this film would be forgettable almost immediately. If you are thinking about seeing Misty Green see it for Eleazar’s performance. 

Misty Green is currently in theaters. 

6/10 C+

New York Film Festival Quick Review: My Wife Cries (2026)

During his construction shift, crane operator Thomas, 40, gets a call to pick up his wife from the hospital. He finds her alone and weeping on a bench outside.

My Wife Cries is directed by Angela Schanelec director of Orly (2010), I Was at Home, But (2019), Music (2023) and many others. 

Out of the 10 films I saw at the New York Film Festival My Wife Cries is hands down the weakest, I truly hate that I’m having to give this movie the “quick review” treatment but there is just not a whole lot to be said here. 

On a technical level the movie is decently impressive, I do like the shots that almost feel like static images. It really makes you take everything in that you are looking at and really encourages your eyes to interact with the environment and frame of the image. On the top of my head I can’t really think of many films that attempt to do this, so I give the movie points for taking this swing. 

The performances and monologues are solid as well, while the monologues are not quite enough to help the minimal narrative. I do appreciate the acting that went into delivering them, Vladimir Vulevic and Agathe Bonitzer in particular are quite great. 

The minimal narrative is what hurts the movie the most, we don’t get really any strong insight of the character’s relationships. We do get scenes of them either sharing their grief over a friend who has died or announcing pregnancies but that is not nearly enough to really bring out strong character moments. I do think you can make a strong film with minimal dialogue but the way the movie tries going at this simply does not work. 

Overall, My Wife Cries is by no means bad. There are some very strong moments here that are unfortunately held back by the movie’s weak story. 

My Wife Cries is currently seeking US distribution! 

5/10 C

Other Mommy (2026) Film Review

Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity which comes out of her closet. The presence, whom she calls “Other Mommy,” becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family.

Other Mommy is directed by Rob Savage director of Strings (2012), Host (2020), Dashcam (2021) and The Boogeyman (2023). 

Other Mommy seemingly came out of nowhere, the trailer showed up one day and went semi-viral which I can definitely see why. It looked like a quite fun horror movie with Jessica Chastain involved. Unfortunately this is very much a case of the trailers being far better than the actual movie, my initial reaction was a lot more harsh and while I have softened on the movie just a bit. Other Mommy is still a complete and total mess that while competently made, is very weak when it comes to acting and especially writing. 

The performances range from bad to fine enough, I do think calling Jessica Chastain’s performance “bad” in my initial was incredibly harsh. I do still believe her performance here is not great, but I would not call it bad either. There are moments of greatness where she does attempt to salvage the movie with some decent sequences, unfortunately there is only so much you can do with such a horrendous script. As for everyone else the performances are not great, Jay Duplass and Arabella Olivia Clarke tried their best but the script is not letting their performances grow. The character writing is just not there at all and opts to go for a lot of horror genre character cliches, making the whole journey feel incredibly pointless. 

As bad as some of the acting can be, the writing is what ultimately kills this movie. From the constant use of “Daddo” to dialogue that is about as investing as paying taxes, it truly feels like nobody had any sort of idea what direction to take this movie. It also takes itself way too seriously which just makes the experience all the more confused. The best way I can describe Other Mommy is this, do you remember those horror movies like Ouija (2014), Wish Upon (2017), Deliver Us From Evil (2014) and many others that studios kept pumping out? Well Other Mommy is basically one of those movies only not as bad and seemingly missed that train. 

The large amount of jump scares do not do this movie any favors at all, every 2 minutes the movie feels obligated to throw a jump scare at you which becomes incredibly obnoxious. This has been said so many times at this point, but shoving in as many jump scares as possible into your movie does not make it more scary. There are so many other elements you need to consider such as atmosphere, story significance, sound and so much more. 

Lastly, while I do think the themes of motherhood and childhood vulnerability are interesting. The movie does not have the firepower to really dive into these themes, there are moments of promise but then the movie quickly goes back to being a jump scare fest. It’s a shame because had these themes been better explored this could have made for a somewhat decent movie. 

Overall, Other Mommy just does not have a whole lot going on here. It’s not quite as bad as my initial reaction made it out to be, but much like I said in my Ice Cream Man review, in a year where there is so many great horror films this one sticks out like a sore thumb. 

Other Mommy is currently in theaters.

4/10 D+