A DIFFERENT MAN – Review by Serena Seghedoni

As humans, we are attracted to things we can’t explain, and writer-director Aaron Schimberg (Chained for Life) takes this concept to the extreme in A Different Man. Does the way in which the world see us influence who we are? Do our interactions with others deprive us of parts of our own identities? Does our life even belong to us? Schimberg asks these questions and more in a film that brims with originality, and that’s quite simply unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

At the center of it all is New Yorker Edward (Sebastian Stan), whose facial deformities have become so severe that his doctor (John Keating) fears he might lose his eyesight soon. But it’s not just a matter of health: Edward’s entire life revolves around his condition, from the way people react to him to the lack of opportunities he’s given, and he also doesn’t have any friends. It’s a miserable existence, and though our protagonist might not be showing it on the outside, he’s on the verge of giving up on life altogether, the void he feels mirrored by a leaking hole in his flat’s ceiling that grows bigger and darker every day, as a constant reminder of his predicament.

One day, a neighbor named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door, and just like in the best romantic comedies, a meet cute involving a sofa leads to them becoming friends. To Edward’s surprise, Ingrid is curious about him, and doesn’t seem to be bothered by his deformities. On the contrary, she seems to genuinely want to get to know him, and the two of them grow closer, learning more about one another each day. They also have a lot in common, as Edward is a struggling actor and Ingrid is a playwright who hasn’t had her break yet, so sharing their seemingly unachievable dreams with each other comes naturally to them. As this friendship keeps growing, things look brighter for Edward – until, one day, his feelings for her become apparent and she immediately takes a step back.

But this is the push Edward needed to make a decision he’s been contemplating for quite some time: undergoing an experimental surgical procedure that will get rid of all his deformities and give him a completely new look. And as painful as it is, the procedure works, as not only is the new Edward completely deformity-free, but he’s also become quite handsome. But will this radical change earn him a chance to be happy?

To say anything more about what happens in the film would be a spoiler, and it’s best if you go into A Different Man knowing very little about the second half of the movie. But what Aaron Schimberg and his cast and crew have accomplished here is a true achievement, as it’s so rare to come across a film that’s so unapologetically original that every single scene has something new to offer.

There are moments of humor in A Different Man that will have you in tears for the sheer absurdity on display, yet the film always remains grounded enough to also resonate with viewers, who’ll recognize themselves in its characters and even come to care for them. It also has just the right amount of horror elements to give you a disquieting feeling that you won’t be able to shake until you uncover its central mystery – and, even then, you’ll still find plenty of developments you won’t see coming. Technically speaking, it’s an extremely well-crafted movie, where cinematography (Wyatt Garfield) and sound design (Neil Benezra and David Forshee) go hand in hand to bring you a modern film that’s also reminiscent of the best classics from the past, just for the sheer quality and attention to detail of it all.

Playing Edward both pre and post-transformation, Sebastian Stan is superb. We never doubt that these two versions of our hero are the same person, as his physical acting alone ensures we’re always on his side, feeling the same emotions and rooting for him at all times. A Different Man is an exceptionally well-written film, but if Edward is such an authentic, believable character, it’s also thanks to the way Stan inhabits him. Renate Reinsve is flawless at portraying the many, many sides of her own character, so much so that our perception of Ingrid changes with every single scene, and our eyes are glued to the screen every time she appears. Playing a character that’s best left unspoiled, Adam Pearson is superb, imbuing the film with such personality that we could keep watching him for hours and hours.

On top of all of this, A Different Man is also an incredibly thought-provoking film, which will be received differently by every single viewer depending on their own experiences. There’s definitely a reversal of the “Beauty and the Beast” tale that even the film itself jokes about in one of its most self-aware moments. But Schimberg, who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, makes sure to approach this topic with the sensitivity it deserves: there are plenty of people putting on metaphorical and actual masks, and yet the film is never exploitative. On the contrary, it often calls us out for our attitudes towards those that are different from us, whether we’re among those who stare, those who try way too hard to act normal, those who do crazy things – or those who make others our project.

But what Schimberg is really saying in the film is that, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you change yourself to fit into society: if you were sad and alone before, chances are you’ll still be just as lonely and depressed after, for no reason other than the fact that life is what it is. Some people make it, others don’t, and there’s nothing you can do about it: chances are, even those who look happy on the outside are probably just as hollow and miserable as you on the inside, underneath the “mask”.

A Different Man has a lot more to say, and one of its central themes – which mainly has to do with a role that Edward was literally born to play and that he misses out on because of the very changes he made – is that, the moment we open ourselves up to the world, we don’t really belong to ourselves anymore. If we’ve let someone get to know us, and that someone processes that information to create something new – such as a piece of art, for example – does our own identity even belong to us anymore? And does art even exist at all?

A Different Man is a tour de force of a movie that you simply won’t be able to stop thinking about, and it will speak to you in a way that not many movies are able to do nowadays. With impressive performance from the entire cast, a flawless screenplay and superb technical execution, it’s a remarkable achievement in filmmaking, and it’s not to be missed.