Each of us has a core identity.  A unique set of values, beliefs, behaviours, and traits make us who we are.  We are each singular, and we don't often change without some external change to force the issue. What change can happen, in any case? When our circumstances change, do we rise to the occasion or falter? Do we become the people we hoped to be or remain the same?  

A Different Man is a film that explores this idea in a logical extreme.  Sebastian Stan stars as Edward, a struggling actor and timid, awkward man with Neurofibromatosis, a condition in which one's body grows benign tumours with his condition manifesting primarily on his face. As a result, he lives a quiet, non-confrontational life, too shy even to speak to his building super when a mysterious viscous liquid is dripping from his ceiling. One day, he befriends his neighbour, Ingrid (Renate Reinsve). Still, his shyness keeps him from acting on his romantic feelings despite her being unfazed by his appearance and charmed by his personality. 

In secret, Edward has also visited a doctor for an experimental procedure to cure his condition. To his surprise the method works and he is healed, his tumours come off and he is left looking like Sebastian Stan.  Rather than explain, he adopts a new name and tells people Edward has killed himself and leaves to forge a new life as Guy, a successful real estate agent. Some time later, he happens upon a small theatre and finds Ingrid, a playwright, auditioning people for the role of Edward in a play she has written.  

This first layer of the story is fascinating, with Stan playing Edwrard playing Guy playing Edward, and crushing it.  He threads a precise needle with this performance in which he is very visibly still the same man he was but can project confidence while never letting anyone know whom he was before –even going so far as to strike up a relationship with Ingrid without letting her know who he is. 

This dichotomy is fascinating to watch as Stan creates two distinct body languages and switches between them at the drop of a hat, sometimes within the same scene.  It's a masterclass of the subtleties of physical acting, and that's before the introduction of Oswald (Adam Pearson) to the story, a disarming Brit who stumbles onto the play because as a man with Neurofibromatosis that manifests primarily in his face, he bears a striking physical resemblance to Edward as he was before but with a key twist: Oswald is charming, outgoing, creative, and immediately makes friends with everyone he meets.  He is Edward's opposite, which drives Edward toward the brink. 

If the front half of the film is a masterclass, then the second half is extra credit for Stan.  Edward begins to unravel, and despite how big this section of the performance is, it always feels real, human, and genuine.  This is a feat when he's jumping over couches, trying to strangle someone or out and about wearing a prosthetic of his old face. There's something deeply relatable about being confronted with someone who has overcome something you could not and who can look in the mirror with the same face and see something you never could. This slow but steady unravelling is incredible to watch, and cements Stan as one of the more versatile and compelling actors working today. 

Pearson is also singularly great; he plays Oswald with a charisma that also never feels fake or forced.  He encounters a whole group of people in multiple scenes and charms them all.  When a beautiful woman stops by his dinner table to flirtatiously say he owes her dinner, you absolutely believe that is a thing that would happen to that guy for all the right reasons, and that's can be challenging to pull off when you look like Sebastian Stan!

A Different Man is a rare and unique film with a point of view to share and a strong voice from its performers and director Aaron Schimberg.  Each scene is framed and blocked for maximum impact, and the camera moves and engages in subtle ways, lingering in one place or moving to really hit the film's emotional beats.  This film grapples with the big questions, like who we are and whether we can change.  It forces us to consider where we are, where we're going, and how we might handle it all.  It's not always the most comfortable watch, but it will also reward multiple watches.

Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 2 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 2 | What does this mean?