A Different Man Review

A Different Man tells a universal tale through a unique set of circumstances. We’re all afraid of being different. This fear of otherness runs deeply through our society, making us strive for beauty and perfection. Yet, when we seek this perfection, we only look skin deep. We’re looking for shortcuts, cures, and easy, get-beautiful-quick weight-loss injections, anti-ageing creams, or camera filters that will separate us from the monstrousness of being different. The majority of us never stop to consider that beauty might not be the answer we’re looking for.

For Edward (Renate Reinsve). So, frustrated and isolated, Edward agrees to take part in a new drug trial, which rapidly and surprisingly completely cures him of his facial deformities. With a new face, Edward fakes his death and begins living as Guy: a successful real estate agent and lady’s man with an expensive new apartment.

Sometime later, Edward wanders into a theatre holding auditions for the role he was born to play: himself. Inspired by their brief but meaningful friendship, Ingrid has become the writer of an off-broadway play and Edward is the leading role. Wearing a mask of his old face, Edward, posing as Guy, books the role, and begins a relationship with Ingrid, achieving his desire to become a successful actor and maintain a relationship with someone he loves. That is, until, Oswald (Adam Pearson) enters the picture: he, too, is also living with neurofibromatosis, but unlike Edward, he doesn’t let it stop him from being everything he wants to be. Oswald acts, sings, and flirts his way through life, being the best and most charismatic person in the room wherever he goes. It becomes clear that Oswald should be the one to play Edward, and that Oswald is the man Ingrid finds most attractive. Edward starts to unravel as he watches Oswald steal the life that should be his.

A Different Man is Kafkaesque a microcosm of that age-old expression: what you think you want isn’t what you really need. In Edward’s bizarre interactions with Oswald, we see that we should embrace our differences and take life’s unique opportunities because the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It sounds saccharine on paper, but the film is more than a sweet conceit. The idea that Edward can shed his otherness and become someone as conventionally good-looking as Sebastian Stan is a comically dark idea. Who wouldn’t morph into The Winter Soldier, given the opportunity? Yet, the film persistently punishes Edward for taking the easy way out, elevating its themes beyond a simple dark joke, into a meta-exploration of difference and inclusion as Guy, Edward, Oswald, Adam, and Sebastian become the tangled web of the same man. The film asks if it’s even okay for Edward to take the role of someone with facial disfigurement, and subsequently, if is it okay for Sebastian Stan to take the role of someone with a facial disfigurement. The answer is no, but in the context of the film, the answer is also yes. It’s this complex broadening of humour and premise which elevates the movie beyond dark humour and takes us deep under the skin of its characters.

Director Aaron Schimberg wrote the part of Oswald for Adam Pearson after they collaborated on the 2019 film Chained for Life and we see Pearson’s sense of humour and spark encapsulated within the film itself. As Oswald, he’s a complete hoot and we thoroughly believe he’s the type of guy who kills karaoke, does yoga in the park, and has girls waiting on him to take them out to dinner. In his performance, we’re confronted with the ridiculousness of prejudice and the belief that otherness can hinder how a person lives. Alongside Pearson, Sebastian Stan thrives as he tackles a complex leading role: his physical performance is nothing short of exceptional. Stan has, as one neighbour describes, ‘the nervous energy of a young Woody Allen’. Schimberg scales back dialogue as much as he can, making portions of the movie reminiscent of a silent film with every emotion and thought Edward has conveyed in Stan’s movements, body language, and facial expressions. At no point does Edward ever even voice a dislike for Oswald, but we feel jealousy and contempt radiating out of Stan’s pours.

On a more practical level, Aaron Schimberg makes smart directorial choices. Interesting camera work and editing keep the movie feeling fresh and exciting and the series of blunt cuts keep us consistently on our toes. The score, too, and vibrant needle drops take the film’s emotional arc to unexpected places whilst playing with genre, blending elements of science-fiction, body horror, and romantic comedy: we see Edward make awkward attempts at romance and then go on to rip huge chunks of flesh from his face following his medical procedures. Shooting a New York City movie on film is daring, but the overall aesthetic gives the film an authentic lived-in feeling, bringing the New York City we see in movies like Annie Hall and Midnight Cowboy back to life. Although the film spirals too wildly out of control as it approaches its climax, watching something so boldly unique is still a treat. All in all, it’s a fantastic time to be a Sebastian Stan stan.