A Different Man Review – Excellent Story Driven Performances, A Must See

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Category: Film

Published on Friday, 21 February 2025 11:28

Written by Janet Walker

A Different Man, from A24, presents a surprising story, as an aspiring actor with a severe deformity participates in a clinical trial, and by a miracle the transformative procedure works, leaving the past, he thinks, behind.

The film begins with Edward, played by Sebastian Stan, an aspiring actor cast in an infomercial with other actors with physical challenges. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in a dingy walk-up. On this day, a new neighbor is moving in, and while they try to move the sofa in the door it scratches his door. His ceiling has a leak, and for some reason, he just hasn't managed to call the super to have it fixed.

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He has neurofibromatosis, which has caused benign tumors to grow, and his doctor explains that he has a colleague who is testing out a new procedure, which will totally transform his face, reducing all the tumors. He agrees to participate. The first step is scanning his face and creating a mask, the before look.

He returns home, and his neighbor, Ingrid, a playwright, played by Renate Reinsve, painted his door red to cover the scratches. He is slicing onions, a knock on the door causes him to slice his finger, and it is Ingrid. She comes bearing gifts, and once she sees his finger, she rushes to fix it. They begin to hang out, they go out for pizza, she watches his reel, and explains she is a playwright, and they laugh about the beginnings of their artistic careers.

As he continues the program, he notices the deep cut on his finger heals, quickly. The medication is causing intense pain, and he still hasn't had the super repair his ceiling. That night he is in intense pain, doubled in agony, and layers of his face are peeling off. He explains it to the doctor, who is thrilled, the procedure is working. One night he comes in and stares at the gaping hole, and the waterlogged sheetrock falls on him and cuts his forehead. And we see how the layers, the tumors, peel off. And we see a new Edward.

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Finally, he has the super come to his apartment to repair the ceiling, and his doctor also shows up, and the transformation is so miraculous that even the doctor fails to recognize him. And Edward explains that the patient the doctor was looking for, has died. Ingrid listens from her apartment door to the conversation.

Now we see a new man, free of the restraints his features bound him too. Edward, now called eye candy, is living it up in the big apple. A salesman, he is a top seller and enjoys the fruits of his new life nearly every night. Until one day, he sees Ingrid, now older, more confident, walking to a theater. Her off-Broadway play is the story of their time. She is casting the role of Edward. He auditions and is cast. Unbeknownst to Ingrid, this Edward is the unspoken love she writes about.

Just as the play is nearly ready, a new man walks in, Oswald, played by Adam Pearson. Oswald is the life of the party, smart, witty, British, talented, and even with his restraints lives life to the fullest.  He suddenly becomes the embodiment of Edward, and his skills are what Ingrid, as the director, wants. So now, Edward, who once resembled the man she so admires, is now just a face in the crowd.

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We also see that once Ingrid is done with someone, she is done. And after recasting Oswald, Edward was done, a persona non grata. He has other plans. This moves A Different Man into the third, and truly surprising, act.

I had put off screening A Different Man, as I wasn't sure how the deformity would be handled. After seeing Sebastian Stan in his now Academy Award nominated role in The Apprentice, I decided to screen it. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up liking the movie. I felt A Different Man portrays visually the adage that the grass is always greener, until it isn't. I thought the filmmakers handled the transformation process so realistically that it was very authenticate. I could imagine this procedure occurring in its exactness. The psychological effects of a total transformation one would expect PTSD to surface, and it did.

A Different Man is a movie about life, the restraints we place on ourselves, the underdogs, the choices, mistakes, friendships, and about understanding the heart wants what the heart wants, and often,, we don't know what we have until we lose it.

The film has been nominated for an Academy Award in Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling and Aaron Schimberg, screenwriter for A Different Man has been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and Adam Pearson, has been nominated for Best Supporting Performance.

Captivating, with excellent story driven performance, A Different Man, is a must see. It is streaming on MAX, and available on VOD services.

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Country: U.S.

Language: English.

Runtime: 112 minutes.

Director: Aaron Schimberg.

Executive Producer: Aaron Schimberg, Sebastian Stan.

Producer: Gabriel Mayers, Vanessa McDonnell, Christine Vachon.

Writer: Aaron Schimberg.

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson, Renate Reinsve, Miles G. Jackson, Patrick Wang, Neal Davidson, Jed Rapfogel, Marc Geller, James Foster Jr., JJ McGlone, Sergio Delavicci, Lawrence Arancio, Billy Griffith, Jack Klacsmann, Cosmo Bjorkenheim, John Keating, C. Mason Wells, Corey R. Taylor, Denielle Burgos, Sammy Mena, Jon Dieringer, Malachi Weir, Nina White.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.