
In “A Different Man,” Sebastian Stan undergoes an extreme medical operation to look like Sebastian Stan. However, he soon discovers that even if he migrates to a different appearance, he does so from the outside, while the inside remains the same.
This idea will most likely evoke memories of John Frankenheimer’s thriller “Seconds,” which was starring Rock Hudson in hopes of making his transition to serious films. It didn’t then, at the very least. (But don’t just take my word for it, and here’s a good chance to do so on The Criterion Channel or Kanopy.) This is not the first time Stan appears to have taken such chances; as the MCU’s Winter Soldier he juggled being in films like “A Different Man”, “Fresh” and “I, Tonya”. He seems to enjoy those works with more strange characters as if losing his good looks is liberating. Stan is also one of the film’s producers.
In writer and director Aaron Schimberg’s dark comedic universe, Stan for the most part is an incapacitated individual with most of his features hidden beneath layers of makeup and prosthetics used to portray a man with a deformed face.
Apparently, Stan was out-and-about in New York City in full costume makeup well into character as Edward, even dropping by his local cafe, in order to get into the mind-set of his character in the movie.
It is in this that “A Different Man” was able to do something that many movies fail to do with the likes of Edward, which is to pity him but rather look at him as someone who has flaws like everyone else is quite refreshing. Edward is a dull, ordinary, low-caliber person, largely because he is a wannabe actor but barely has any skill to support the dream. There are quite several occasions that this is more than true during his first performance in his only audition’s opening stanza. But it is this misguided zeal that causes him to attempt this radical change in the first place.
The way Schimberg presents Edward’s narrative is both forthright and subtle and reflects his subject matter persona completely. Directed by Wyatt Garfield in a super 16mm format, the romantic comedy is conceptualized as an indie film in the 70s in New York, complete with the witty yet absurd humor signature of Woody Allen’s films during this time. One can be forgiven for thinking this way about her when the action shifts to Ingrid who has just been introduced as Edward’s new neighbor. Reinsve hails from Norway and is a playwright with massive ambitions of finding success in America.
Reinsve, who gained international fame due to her leading role in the award-winning drama “The Worst Person in the World,” fully embodies a mystically broken yet ultimately beautiful character, a woman with an alluring smile yet an unattractive streak.
Her attractiveness is so unique that it keeps us glued to the screen even if we have an idea that determinism may not be suitable here. As the dynamics between Edward and Ingrid develop further, it seems almost impossible to guess exactly where things are headed. There is a mild sense of anxiety since the situation is rather humorous as well.
Edward’s transformation, when he is no longer the appalling gooey creature that we loathe, comes when he introduces himself to us as now Guy the real estate agent instead. The feeling definitely seems like a perfect addition to the other body horror film of the week, Coralie Fargeat’s deranged version of The Substance. Still, insecurity continues to haunt him regardless of the improvement. Stan has a very deep sense of continuity where his posture remained unchanged, the lengthy voice also was very much consistent. Bathroom hook bathrooms in dive bars can often provide nightmare scenarios that are incredibly unrelatable. Then a confusing stranger shows up and further compounds his idiosyncrasies.
Oswald is played by Adam Pearson who happens to have the same sort of terrifying disfigurement that Edward has in his early stage.
You might recognize Pearson for his colorful role in Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” or Schimberg’s picture from 2018 titled “Chained for Life.” He however suffers from a neurofibromatosis, while Oswald smiles with such confidence that every person he encounters instantly is captivated by him. He is an adventurous man, an eye-candy with amazing wits and an insatiable thirst for exploration. He is, in other words, everything that Edward has not been, and this only makes Edward’s already despairing situation even worse. His torment musical in the form of composer Umberto Smerilli’s rich score is suitably reflective of his, with the cheekiest of overtones.
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