A Different Man - Review: A Different Kind of Tragedy

 

There’s an old adage that’s stuck around for decades of film, television, books, stories, and more; “Be careful what you wish for.” It’s stretched throughout tales from “The Twilight Zone” to “Big” to “Click” and always manages to provide ample ground for a fun cinematic tale, whether it’s on a grand science fiction scale or a grounded slice-of-life angle. Aaron Schimberg’s (“Chained for Life”) latest film, “A Different Man,” arrives with a unique twist on that base concept that evolves into a twisty, tragic, and extremely funny drama that’s a showcase for its actors’ fantastic abilities. 

The film follows Edward, played by Sebastian Stan (“Fresh” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), a man with facial disfigurement whose affliction and general awkwardness and anxiety makes his day-to-day life difficult, including befriending his next-door neighbor, aspiring playwright Ingrid, played by Renate Reinsve (“The Worst Person in the World,” “Presumed Innocent (2024)”). After participating in an experimental clinical trial, he finds himself cured and able to pursue a more normalized life. However, soon after reintroducing himself to Ingrid and life beginning to go well, he meets Oswald, played by Adam Pearson (“Under the Skin,” “Chained for Life”), a man with the same kind of disfigurement Edward used to have, but who lives life with far more charm and energy, causing Edward to begin to spiral into madness and jealousy. 

A role like Edward’s can be a maddening task, as not only does the audience have to sympathize with him but also believe that his downward spiral is legitimate and not overblown. Which is why Stan’s performance is so utterly fantastic. He captivates in the same way a lost puppy does and becomes a maddening kind of character as he spirals, creating an extremely funny kind of self-destruction and self-pity. Reinsve gives a performance that skews closely to the tropes of the manic pixie dream girl but pushes beyond that material as the film progresses. Meanwhile Pearson is a force of complete and absolute charm. He comes across so naturally funny and breezy that the audience will likely feel as blown over and bewildered by his confidence as Edward is. All the performances are great, but his feels the most unexpectedly so. 

Schimberg’s script and direction walk a very delicate line between Hitchcockian thriller and broad comedy, crafting something that's constantly funny while also feeling like Edward might break out into madness at a moment's notice. It's a difficult feat to achieve, and his cast of actors work well to understand the tone of it all. Things never feel jokey or deathly serious, making it all feel like a series of unfortunately amusing coincidences. 

A lively and tense musical score from Umberto Smerilli (“The Bunker Game,” “Wordly Girl”) further adds to the classic thriller notes and further accentuates the film’s tragicomic tonal shifts in the last act. There’s a fantastic atmosphere crafted by every aspect of the film’s technical production. For the most minor of nitpicks, the pacing is the shakiest part of it all; the first act is pretty deliberately paced, but once Edward goes through his transformation and the intrigue picks up, things quickly take off.

“A Different Man” is a fascinating, tense, funny, and extremely wry tale of self-destruction and self-pity carried by Sebastian Stan’s leading performance. Pearson is also a phenomenal standout and the movie’s borderline cartoonish evolution of the characters makes it a thoroughly engrossing time. It's quite a different experience from any film you’ve seen so far this year. 5/5