A Different Man (2024) Review: Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson Dominate This Well-Acted Dark Comedy About Identity and Appearances
What happens when your dreams come true after becoming A Different Man? A dream that turns your deformed facial appearance into someone as handsome as Sebastian Stan, only to find out that good looks do not necessarily equate to success or happiness. This is what writer-director Aaron Schimberg has in his mind as he delves into a cautionary tale of how changing one’s appearance doesn’t make a difference on the inside. Edward (Sebastian Stan) is such a man here, an aspiring actor who suffers from neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that leads to tumour-like growth in the body, which in this case, occurs around his face.
When we first met him, he was on set shooting a corporate video about dealing with disfigured co-workers positively and respectably. We see his routines such as taking a train back home, where people would look at him differently and his mundane life back home. He doesn’t interact much until the arrival of a new next-door neighbour named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), an aspiring playwright who enjoys talking with him. They eventually become friends and it looks as if there’s a romantic spark between them.
Then one day, Edward’s doctor informs him about an experimental drug that may potentially cure his neurofibromatosis condition. He accepts the treatment and as time goes by, he gradually finds his facial skin peeling away and falling off to make way for a brand new skin beneath that transforms him from a deformed individual to a man who looks like Sebastian Stan. It’s like a whole new world for him and the first thing he does is step out of his apartment confidently and visit one of the local bars. He no longer has to go around avoiding human contact while slouching.
He even goes as far as ditching his real name, making up stories and calling himself Guy. He has since made a successful career as a real estate agent and his colleagues adore him and later, comes a time when he finds out that Ingrid is holding auditions for an Off-Broadway play inspired by Edward’s life. Seeing that as an opportunity, he is determined to score the titular role to play Edward and everything seems to be turning out well.
Until that is, the arrival of Oswald (Adam Pearson) changes everything. He’s a charmer with a British accent who’s knowledgeable about movie quotes while his utmost confidence and articulate skills not only impress Ingrid but also others who know him well. The introduction of Oswald marks the movie’s turning point that ultimately reverses Guy’s winning streak, making the latter increasingly jealous and insecure. The story obviously wanted to flip the common perceptions that appearances don’t always matter as in the case of Guy and how a deformed person like Oswald can still live his life happily without developing his self-consciousness.
No doubt that Pearson’s appearance halfway through the movie ironically steals the show here from Sebastian Stan’s Edward/Guy, which somehow echoes the similarity happened with Jeremy Strong’s Roy Cohn fares better than Stan’s young Donald Trump in The Apprentice. Still, that doesn’t mean Stan’s lead role in A Different Man is inferior. Far from it, actually but rather delivers one of his best performances to date playing a deformed individual whose radical facial transformation only brings him temporary respite.
Apart from Stan and Pearson, Renate Reinsve, best known for her role in The Worst Person in the World, deserves equal mention as the attractive Ingrid. Despite the subject matter surrounding deformed individuals, Schimberg isn’t interested in turning A Different Man into a grim horror tale. His direction is leaning more into a dark comedy, albeit a lighthearted one with occasional moments of sex and violence.
