A Different Man

"Edward" (Sebastian Stan) is a facially disfigured man, stuck in a rundown apartment, whose life isn't really going anywhere fast. Then he gets a new neighbour. "Ingrid" (Renato Reinsve) is a writer who befriends him and promises him a part in her play. Meantime, his doctors manage to get him on a radical course of treatment that gradually returns his face to a more normal visage. Returning to his flat, and with some fairly grotesque things emerging from his leaky ceiling, he realises that nobody recognises him anymore so he has to assume a different identity. That's when he discovers that "Ingrid" is, indeed, putting on a play - and that the old "Edward" is the title and the topic. He wants the part. It's his part. How to get it though without giving the game away? Add to his frustrations the arrival of "Oswald" (Adam Pearson) who is an ostensibly decent character but who also wants the role, and he has the aesthetics as opposed to the prosthetics. "Ingrid" has tough choices to make but where might this leave "Edward"? There's something quite circular about the way this story pans out. A sort of be careful what you wish for type scenario that gives and removes hope from "Edward" and almost creates a villain of the piece too! Is that merited or is that justified? The drama shines a light on the more shallow attitudes amidst society, on our intolerances and assumptions but it also swipes at the fickleness of friendships, fame and success - all rather engagingly delivered by both Stan and Pearson. It's the former man who positively exudes exasperation as the denouement (only vaguely) skirts the Chaplinesque. It's on that note that it's worth saying this is quite funny at times, too - the writing doesn't try to impose any morals on us, rather it presents us with some scenarios and lets us enjoy and evaluate as we go. It doesn't hang about, and right from the start we hit the ground running as the characters develop, the personalities emerge - for good or bad, and it's well worth a couple of hours in a cinema. I got more from it second time round as I was able to focus a little more on the nuance than the imagery.

Kudos to Sebastian Stan for committing 100% to a deeply flawed character living through a very complex situation, and for giving an intensely physical performance.

I wish I could say I liked the movie more than I did. It's a compelling premise and gets even more so once the actor Adam Pearson makes his appearance (Pearson also gives a wonderful performance, by the way). But I felt every minute of this film. It's not long, but it feels like it is. It overstayed its welcome for me by a good fifteen minutes or so.

But I liked the central question the movie asks of its main character -- where's the line between being unfairly held back by societal constructs because of our disadvantages vs. Voluntarily opting in to being a victim? Stan's character does some pretty reprehensible things by the time the movie is over, but your heart can't help but go out to the guy.

Grade: B.

Much like Sebastian Stan's character Edward, for many years I was always the person that looked like another person. There was always a caveat of course, where it seemed like the person I supposedly looked like seemed more interesting, outgoing and well known amongst these groups. This parallel with my life and the film instantly drew me in.

It's intriguing this film came out so close to another film centering around identity, that being The Substance. Where the satire and in your face boldness of that film will define its legacy, A Different Man's approach is much more pensive and sad. It reflects the unique challenges of men and women, where women are judged for their outward appearance and sex appeal, while men are judged more for their success and charisma (though sex appeal does play a part in this film). Edward feels held back and embarrassed by his appearance, and fails to see his worth in a society bent on looks and stature. What he doesn't realize is that his inner self is interesting and complex, but he can't harness that power in him. Even when he is conventionally attractive, he is still the same nervous, awkward person. He acts how he thinks he should act in this role, rather than be himself. This is what makes the introduction of Oswald so interesting.

Oswald is aggressive, pushy, and dare I say diabolical. While his outward features should be a setback in his life, his confident and charismatic personality makes him the perfect foil for Edward. He is powerful in ways that Edward can only pretend to be, pushing him out of a play about his own life, stealing his love interest and earning the love and admiration that Edward felt deprived of. Edward is so weak and overwhelmed that he once again tries to pretend to be something he is not on top of his false persona. Edward never truly accepted his true self, and it eventually leads to some troublesome outcomes for him.

I definitely think this film is going to hit a lot of men quite hard, the reviewer included. With all of the discussions about what is masculinity or what even defines a man, it's difficult being our true selves due to the fear of being judged by mythical standards. Is the fact I never went to war not make me a man? Is the fact I am overweight and broken make me less than a man? People forget the pressures men feel in modern society, and we just turn off and sometimes disappear into the woodwork. Suicide and death are approached subjects in this film, and much like in reality, they are brushed aside.

I was definitely intrigued by this film, for we rarely see true deconstructions of the male psyche where the character doesn't do a complete 180 on their life and become a confident Casanova or something, or saves the day like every man wishes they can do. The reality is, most of us just exist and hope things turn out for the best. I did wish the movie had addressed the elephant in the room, which was trying to portray a story about a physically handicapped person without making them a victim. I think they expertly dealt with that subject with some meta commentary at the end. I don't think they wanted that subject to overrun the story, but they at least addressed the issue. In retrospect, they handled it as best as they could.

Simply put, it just feels like a cheap shot when the film begins by presenting the undeniable struggles of the main character's life and has him pursue a cure for completely understandable reasons - and then effectively turns around and says "Actually, all of the problems in his life were his fault, he didn't really get better in ways which matter after that, and let us present a totally idealized version of someone with the exact same condition to prove why."

"Accept yourself for who you are and do not seek external fixes" message might come from the right place, but it is not so inspiring when his condition was effectively shown interfering with something as important as his eyesight and generally affect his quality of life even when nobody was watching.

Furthermore, this film also exhibits the same contrivance which brought down Challengers for me - the insistence that like a duckling, the lead MUST imprint onto the first remotely meaningful relationship shown in the narrative and fail to form anything offscreen even when all the conditions are there for it. It is worse here when that relationship effectively comes from a combination of pity and fetishism - as the film is at least honest enough to acknowledge.

For all of that, the first half is very strong in its depiction of the grime of main character's life, reinforced in a variety of unusual ways like the PSA he is part of. Even the second half has enough neat moments - whether in digging down to the details of stage productions or other smaller twists and turns - to avoid ever feeling like a total loss.

I suppose one reason I'm so disappointed is because this could have been a remarkable narrative of a climber who benefited from the system (in this case, the research breakthrough turning him into "A Different Man") only to pull up the ladder behind him for entirely selfish reasons. Instead, the film pretends the climb was never worth it in the first place and stalls around various meta layers instead of developing the point.

I found 'A Different Man' a very tough movie to get my head around just whether I enjoyed it or not. On the one hand I found it interesting and I was always curious what would happen next and how it would conclude. On the other hand, I rarely liked the choices it did make next and didn't love the way it did conclude.

I get the message the movie is trying to get across, but I'm not sure this was the way to hammer it home. I get that imposter syndrome is a real thing, but this seemed a little bit ludicrous and hard to buy into. But perhaps that's the point?

It is a very interesting film to look at though. The acting is great and it is shot in a lot of really interesting ways. There's also a grittiness about it that keeps you on your toes and has you unsure what is around the next corner. I'm really torn on this one, but I'll settle on 6.5/10.