It's a rare thing to see a film where you can't stop yourself from smiling, especially when it's one as wryly sardonic as A Different Man. The latest from writer/director Aaron Schimberg, who had previously made the thematically similar though more slippery 2018 feature Chained for Life, is a film about faces, the world's perception of them and the stories we tell ourselves about them. Most ambitiously, it raises more unwieldy questions of identity and wields them with clever precision. It's a frequently electrifying if still slightly messy experience that's gleefully unafraid to upend itself, laughing in the face of our expectations for it just as it has a go at the narratives that shape them.
Initially, this centers on Sebastian Stan playing the struggling actor Edward. His only big gig is a grimly hilarious office PSA, his dumpy apartment has a moldy hole in the ceiling, and this New York is far from the city of his dreams. Oh, and Edward also has neurofibromatosis, a condition where benign skin tumors cover much of his face. Stan spends much of the film's beginning wearing prosthetics, but rather than feel exploitative, the subtext about the perils of casting a handsome star to play such a part is soon made text. This is a film that turns its eye inward at every turn, uncovering withering humor just as it does subtle sadness about the state of the world it's quietly satirizing. When Edward undergoes an experimental treatment to remove his tumors, this sci-fi/body horror conceit is treated with appropriate absurdity as Schimberg smuggles in sharp asides about a medical system that can be dismissive and hostile to disabled people. What ensures A Different Man remains light on its feet while staring down these questions is the man who soon comes in and steals every scene like he's taking a stroll in the park.
If there is one element the film could use more of, it'd be Adam Pearson dancing through it as Oswald, a gregarious and charming fellow who begins to embody Edward in a play based on his life. Pearson, in addition to starring in Chained for Life, also had a small but quite significant role in Jonathan Glazer's spectacular 2013 film Under the Skin that became something special in his hands. The same is true here as he makes A Different Man not only delightfully, dryly funny, but also more biting when it needs to be. As an actor who actually has neurofibromatosis, he is not only acutely aware of the preconceived notions people will have about him based on his face, but how to skewer them. Pearson is utterly outstanding in the role, delivering lines with heaps of joyous flair, countering Stan's increasingly sullen performance perfectly. The heart of the film is found in the contrasts between the two as they expose the fears Edward has about how, while his life now seems better, he remains just as troubled as he was before it began anew.
This is where Stan, most known for being Bucky Barnes in various so-so Marvel movies, also comes to life. We see the darkly comedic combination of confusion, rage and despair in his eyes. Should Edward not have everything now that he looks like how he's "supposed to?" How is it that his life is still not going how he wanted? Does he not deserve happiness? A Different Man is a comedic parable that doesn't always fully know where it is going with these questions, but seeing Stan and Pearson bounce off each other gives the film its punch.
Alongside the magnificent Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) as Edward's neighbor Ingrid — who mines his life for her play— it's an acting trio as good as any this year. That it's shot in 16-mm film by Wyatt Garfield, cinematographer for great films like 2020's Nine Days and 2022's Resurrection, ensures it all looks great, with rich textures masking silly situations.
The film has been compared to the work of Charlie Kaufman — the shattering Synecdoche, New York looming large over key parts due to the metafictional nature of it all — though this ultimately feels reductive, especially with the uniquely beguiling ending that Schimberg throws us into. A sudden burst of violence and a major jump in time leaves us adrift, though this gambit mostly pays off in a cheeky closing exchange between the three characters. A few final fleeting looks, one that recalls a moment earlier in the film that opens up a whole host of other meanings, a pointed showstopper of a line from Pearson, and a grin in return put one last smile on the face.
A Different Man
