'A Different Man' review: Sebastian Stan leads a stunning, self-reflexive drama on representation

A movie that's arsenic overmuch astir its ain gimmick arsenic what that gimmick represents, Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man casts Sebastian Stan arsenic Edward, a man pinch pronounced facial differences that he yet sheds done a occurrence cure. However, erstwhile a now traditionally handsome Edward is formed successful a play astir his ain life, nan thorny mobility of creator practice is broached successful discomforting and hilarious ways.

The movie doesn't conscionable tie attraction to its determination to formed a beautiful Hollywood look arsenic a man pinch neurofibromatosis. That would beryllium excessively easy an flight hatch, and excessively superficial a characteristic study. Instead, it further complicates its questions of optics and authorities by having a existent character pinch nan aforesaid information arsenic Edward play a important domiciled successful nan film: Adam Pearson, who is known for appearing successful Jonathan Glazer's Under nan Skin, aft which he became a nationalist advocator against "disfigurement stigma." Pearson besides starred successful Schimberg's 2018 movie Chained For Life.

Pearson’s charismatic arrival, arsenic a man who threatens to usurp nan domiciled of Edward from himself, sends Edward down a surreal affectional spiral. This on-screen conflict of fabrication and reality not only forces a strange, poignant self-reflection — for Edward, and for nan movie arsenic a full — but it besides creates an fascinating meta-text that tells its ain communicative astir nan actors successful nan film. It's arsenic overmuch a communicative of outward quality arsenic it is soul anxieties, a equilibrium Schimberg strikes successful observant ways arsenic he crafts a stunning, distinctly New York comedy-drama astir seeing oneself.

What is A Different Man about?

As Edward mopes astir his flat building, avoiding interactions arsenic champion he can, neighbors and various handymen alternatingly look and connection polite but forced nods, arsenic though it takes them typical effort to debar mentioning his differences. Edward is an actor, and not an altogether unspeakable one, though his roles are constricted — not only by his appearance, but by his utter deficiency of self-confidence. Edward is halfway betwixt invisible and hyper-visible; immoderate don't spot him arsenic afloat quality aliases arsenic a viable romanticist interest, while others extremity and stare. He exists successful limbo, trudging on time by time successful his cramped, dilapidated New York apartment, which Schimberg and cinematographer Wyatt Garfield seizure pinch a consciousness of grimy texture.

When Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), an charismatic wannabe playwright from Europe, moves successful adjacent door, Edward's prospects yet look to change. After an first skepticism, she takes a funny liking successful him, and moreover offers to constitute a play for him to prima in. However, his deficiency of conversational skills can't thief but create an awkward move whenever they chat, arsenic though he were immoderate pet task for her to foster. Whatever nan reality, Edward's hunched-over assemblage connection and mousey demeanor hint astatine a benignant of affectional impenetrability, arsenic though he'll publication nan worst successful immoderate business because it's nan curen he's travel to expect.

When a extremist aesculapian process verging connected sci-fi assemblage scary promises him a caller life, Edward takes advantage of it successful a very literal way, utilizing his caller look to commencement a marque caller life and "killing off" nan aged Edward arsenic though he were a fictional character. Time goes by, and he finds master occurrence successful existent property — a forward-facing profession — arsenic a handsome man named Guy. But upon discovering Ingrid has written a play astir his life, his curiosity gets nan amended of him, and he auditions pinch nan thief of a flimsy prosthetic mask.

Although Ingrid intends to formed personification pinch facial differences successful nan role, which she insists she didn't guidelines connected immoderate existent person, Guy's capacity convinces her that he’s a miraculously a cleanable fit, contempt nan truth that he doesn't person immoderate facial differences. He embodies each of Edward's gestures and his beingness and emotional  anguish, moreover successful scenes wherever Ingrid imagines conversations and soul monologues that don't lucifer what we’ve seen unfold betwixt them successful erstwhile scenes, backmost erstwhile Guy was still Edward. The play, it seems, is calved from Ingrid’s limited, patronizing position connected Edward. The much this shape accumulation goes on, nan much Edward is forced to reckon pinch nan past, and pinch realizations nan movie presents done stark, unsettling zooms into his bewildered expression. Despite having a caller face, he whitethorn still beryllium nan aforesaid lonely, miserable personification connected nan inside; possibly now much than ever, since now he has nary 1 pinch whom he tin stock nan truth astir who he erstwhile was.

Sebastian Stan delivers an impeccable performance.

As an character playing 2 versions of a character, and subsequently playing a third, fictitious type — 1 he can't play too well, lest he beryllium recovered retired — Stan is shouldered pinch a monumentally analyzable task. The prosthetics utilized to trade his differences let him to emote wrong reason, but posture and activity are nan devices done which he constructs Edward. 

Not only does Stan cleanable nan ticks and eccentricities of a decidedly mean character (i.e. nan existent Edward pre-procedure), but erstwhile he's reborn arsenic Guy and formed arsenic Ingrid's conception of Edward, he crafts a consciousness of metamorphosis and regression. As nan traditionally good-looking Guy playing this Edward, he delves heavy into nan susceptible anxieties nan characteristic had begun to suppress arsenic portion of his caller life, if only to effort and bring immoderate magnitude of honesty to a domiciled he believes is dishonest. 

These multi-layered complexities output fascinating scenes of rehearsal and rewriting, bringing to nan fore nan film's innate mobility of whether group acold extracurricular Edward's beingness and affectional acquisition are tin of telling his story. Ironically, nan broadside nan movie seems to travel down connected is simply a hesitant "maybe not," astatine slightest arsenic acold arsenic Ingrid is concerned. But Schimberg is not Ingrid, and he's nether nary delusions of passing disconnected Edward arsenic a activity of axenic imagination.

Mashable Top Stories

This is mostly because to anyone who's seen Pearson earlier — whether successful a movie, a TEDx Talk, aliases his galore wrestling crippled show appearances — it's clear that Edward, played by Stan, is distinctly modeled disconnected Pearson, and nan communicative practically exists truthful that he tin show up successful immoderate capacity. The very knowledge that Pearson is progressive pinch nan film, and that Schimberg has worked pinch him before, colors A Different Man successful a caller light, and brings a wholly outer discourse to Stan's performance. 

Of course, moreover without this knowledge, this discourse remains discomforting. Either way, Stan is playing a man he theoretically shouldn't be, nan aforesaid measurement Guy wearing prosthetics to play Edward ought to beryllium seen arsenic ill-advised to those astir him (due to nan problematic quality of "performing" beingness disablement and of robbing a abnormal character of a uncommon opportunity). However, Guy's in-world mentation for Ingrid arsenic to why he's capable to truthful profoundly pat into nan characteristic of Edward is illuminating too. He concocts a dishonesty astir having erstwhile been champion friends pinch personification pinch facial differences, which he claims not only gives him licence to show this communicative but allows him to show it intimately and empathetically.

This is apt akin to Schimberg's ain reasoning too. Having go friends pinch Pearson aft their collaboration connected Chained For Life — a movie that embodies akin debates — he has made an full movie "about" him successful galore ways, treating him arsenic some conception and quality being... But who does Pearson play successful nan movie? Well, that's an wholly different delight.

While watching nan film, 1 mightiness beryllium inclined to judge it features nan champion activity of Stan's career; it moreover won him Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance. However, moreover this praise is designed to beryllium second-guessed astatine nan backmost of one's mind, since his domiciled is 1 that projects a life of awkwardness and isolation onto Edward from group extracurricular his acquisition — different thought nan movie self-reflexively lampoons done debates betwixt Guy and Ingrid. And conscionable erstwhile it seems for illustration this civilized conundrum is 1 nan movie mightiness avoid, it crafts an explosive alternative.

All of a sudden, Pearson shows up arsenic an eccentric man named Oswald, an arsenic funny character who stumbles upon Ingrid's production. From nan infinitesimal he appears, he delivers a capacity truthful extremist successful its conception that he fundamentally changes what A Different Man is moreover about.

Adam Pearson is nan film's not-so-secret weapon.

Between films for illustration The Elephant Man and Schimberg's Chained for Life, facial differences connected surface person been tied intimately to pity and moroseness, an thought pinch which A Different Man perpetually toys via Edward's story. However, for anyone acquainted pinch nan existent Pearson — arsenic Schimberg nary uncertainty is — he appears to beryllium reasonably upbeat and well-adjusted, contempt speaking astir nan bullying successful his past. The film's crippled is astir a characteristic pinch nan aforesaid information arsenic Pearson, but Edward's reality doesn't look to lucifer Pearson's successful nan slightest. So, successful bid to further item this disconnect, Schimberg writes Pearson a domiciled that swings toward a wholly different utmost that vastly reimagines nan type of roles that ought to beryllium disposable to actors sloppy of differences, facial aliases otherwise.

The infinitesimal Oswald appears, he passive aggressively comments connected Ingrid's casting prime pinch his posh enunciation — Oswald, for illustration Pearson, hails from London— a mini item that yanks nan movie successful an moreover much head-spinning direction. Oswald is everything Edward wishes he could be: a brash playboy who sounds group for illustration a book, wears ostentatious shirts, and worms his measurement into societal and master circles pinch ease.

Pearson plays nan domiciled pinch slick, effortless panache. Each infinitesimal he's on-screen is incredibly exciting; Oswald swallows each segment whole, practically sapping Edward's power arsenic he's forced to face an uncanny reflection of himself who represents truths he mightiness not want to face. Is this who Edward could've been each along? And, much importantly, is nan dishonesty he's surviving worthy it?

The much these questions torture Edward, nan much surreal A Different Man becomes. Its very premise starts to consciousness for illustration a fever dream, buoyed by escalating interpersonal tensions arsenic Oswald forces his measurement into a consulting domiciled connected nan play. Slowly but surely, he originates imposing his own, supposedly much "authentic" imagination of Edward’s life connected Edward's ain story, until nan mobility of whether aliases not Oswald should simply switch Guy successful nan play becomes unavoidable. The conception of authenticity is truthful stretched and contorted by these developments that it becomes thematic taffy, pinch nary chopped aliases coagulated form.

However, arsenic A Different Man piles furniture upon furniture of confounding complication, it remains emotionally existent to itself, which is to say, some to Edward's progressively paranoid self-reflection, and to Schimberg's scrutiny of his ain activity (both this film, arsenic good arsenic Chained For Life). The movie neither shies distant from its innate surrealness, nor hesitates to get its hands soiled erstwhile it comes to existent and captious conversations connected whose stories tin and should beryllium told (and much importantly, how), moreover though it reflects each of its thoughts connected nan taxable done a funhouse mirror.

By grounding its communicative successful a characteristic play first and foremost, A Different Man anchors its galore crippled zig-zags, and its anxieties astir its ain existence, to a tangible affectional reality. Schimberg walks a razor-thin statement betwixt sincere self-critique and gaudy exploitation, and successful nan process, practically erases nan bound betwixt them. The extremity consequence reveals uncomfortably funny caller modes of on-screen representation, expressed successful ways some innovative and exciting. 

A Different Man opens successful constricted merchandise Sept. 20, earlier going nationwide connected Oct. 4.

UPDATE: Sep. 18, 2024, 4:12 p.m. EDT A Different Man was primitively reviewed retired of nan Berlin International Film Festival. This review, which was first published connected March 2, 2024, has been updated to bespeak its theatrical release.