A Different Man
A Different Man
Sebastian Stan shines in this dark psychological fable
What’s it about? After undergoing facial-reconstructive surgery, Edward becomes fixated on an actor in a stage production based on his former life.
Who it’s for? Fans of Sebastian Stan, if you like dark comedies, fans of 70s cinema, if you like Woody Allen and/or David Cronenberg movies, those fascinated by themes of identity and performance, if you like ironic humor
Who should avoid? If you like feel-good movies, if you’re uncomfortable with body horror elements, those looking for something straight-forward, if you dislike black comedies
Watch if you like: The Elephant Man, Adaptation, The Fly, Being John Malkovich, A Serious Man
News and Notes:
Premiered at Sundance 2024
Sebastian Stan won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at Berlinale 2024
Released in limited theaters on September 20th
Schmear’s Verdict: A Different Man offers a twisted yet compelling exploration of identity and appearance, buoyed by Sebastian Stan's captivating performance, though its conclusion falters, leaving a somewhat sour aftertaste to an otherwise imaginative and provocative journey.
(This review posted from Berlinale 2024)
A Different Man is a dark “be careful what you wish for” fable that finally answers the question that everyone’s been asking, “What if Woody Allen directed Beauty and the Beast?” A near-perfect psychological parable through two acts, the film spins out a bit at the end, but by then the film’s warped bona fides have been proven.
Sebastian Stan continues an absolute heater of fascinating roles, playing Edward, a quiet, unconfident aspiring actor with a severe facial deformity (wondrous prosthetics work by Michael Marino). Job prospects are slim to nonexistent. The best role Edward can bag is that of a deformed person in a twisted and hilarious office PSA about treating disabled coworkers with more humanity.
At least Edward’s attractive, playwright neighbor Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, who I’m starting to believe should be in every movie) bestows personhood upon him; friendship, yes. Romance? Not quite. Edward undergoes a radical test treatment that promises to heal his deformity, and to his and the doctors’ surprise, it works—albeit in a horrifyingly Cronenbergian way.
Written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, A Different Man has a wicked, ironic sense of humor. It feels like a throwback to 1970s cinema with its sleazy, cockeyed societal outlook in the vein of Cronenberg, David Lynch, and Woody Allen. This is underscored, literally, by the music, all dramatic piano and scuzzy saxophone (score by Umberto Smerilli).
With great meta-textual awareness, Schimberg pushes us to our limit, delaying our gratification at seeing the immensely handsome Stan in all his glory. When we and he get there, it's, of course, not as rosy as anticipated. Edward pretends to be a different man—a facey real estate agent. The old Edward is considered legally dead, and Ingrid is memorializing him and their friendship by putting on an off-broadway play.
This launches a perversely funny exploration of performance, as Edward gets cast in essentially his own biographical story. His dreams are coming true, but hypocrisy abounds.
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Ingrid’s developed a full-fledged Elephant Man kink. She and her production fudge facts about how she really treated Edward. Edward continues lying, wearing masks both figurative and literal. What Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation said about storytelling, A Different Man gets at the same regarding acting and identity.
A further wrench is thrown into proceedings when Oswald enters the picture (played by British actor and presenter Adam Pearson). In spite of what should be a crippling deformity (certainly it hamstrung Edward), Oswald is everything old Edward wasn't—a completely uninhibited, karaoke-singing, Casanova super-mensch.
Pearson, despite being a thrilling shot in the arm, helps usher in a third act that wobbles. A Different Man doesn’t know where or how to end, which leads to an overwritten spin-out of a finale that leaves an acrid taste. In this sense, it reminded me much of the similarly deviant A24 midrash Dream Scenario, which also resorted to randomly sour, nihilistic misanthropy in the end.
A Different Man is a better, more memorable film, with a stronger lead performance, a more ingenious set-up, and better influences. A bumpy landing, yes, but an imaginatively perverted ride.
