Body image is a hot topic at the moment, something The Substance recently tapped into with great success. But while The Substance leaned more into a particular kind of body horror, Aaron Schimberg goes in a different direction with his intriguing but perplexing A Different Man.
In the film, the main character has neurofibromatosis. Basically the disease causes lesions (sometimes benign, sometimes more serious) to grow on the face, often distorting the features. Interestingly, the film features Adam Pearson, an actor living with the condition in real life. This sets up the film for a “Beauty and the Beast” scenario, though one that’s far more complex and nuanced than that sounds. But Schimberg is very much interested in exploring ideas around how physical appearance connects to a sense of worth – both self-worth and the values assigned by others – than in re-working classic tales.
The place is New York City, but the time is a bit fuzzy (maybe the 1980s, maybe the 2000s?). Our protagonist is Edward (Sebastian Stan). He’s an actor with neurofibromatosis. This has limited his parts to dreadful workplace videos; though he clearly aspires to more. He lives a pretty meagre existence in a crappy apartment – and what’s with the dripping dark patch on his ceiling? Then Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door. She’s an aspiring playwright. Although their interactions are tentative at first, Ingrid seems to warm to Edward. But he’s wary – possibly afraid of being hurt. After a minor accident, a doctor suggests Edward might like to consider a “radical” new drug treatment. Edward agrees. Even though the side effects of the drug are pretty frightening, his facial tumours start just falling off. Soon, he looks “normal”.
Fast-forward a few years and Edward is a successful real estate agent. He lives in a much nicer apartment, and has at least casual relationships with women. But he seems to have swapped one kind of misery for another. That is until he recognises Ingrid in the street. He follows her, to discover that she’s staging an off-off-Broadway production of a play she’s written. It soon becomes clear that the play is about Edward. But Ingrid doesn’t recognise the “new” Edward – who calls himself Guy – and invites him to be part of the show. Things seem to be going great, until Oswald (Pearson) shows up. He’s a charismatic Brit who’s clearly perfect for the part of Edward in the play. But his presence soon rankles Edward/Guy immensely.
A Different Man is one of those films that crept up on me. At the time, it ran along at its own pace – which was pretty zippy given the subject matter. But once I had a chance to “sit” with it for a few days, it revealed more layers. Schimberg asks a lot of questions about image and self-worth, but not in the ways you might expect. It’s full of symbolism that doesn’t reveal its real purpose until much later, so it demands attention. The film is bewildering at times, but its disparate parts come together to make a compelling whole. That said, Schimberg makes a couple of choices in the third act that didn’t work for me, but that’s more personal preference than any criticism.
DOP Wyatt Garfield (Nine Days) creates a fantastic visual metaphor, contrasting the two distinct periods of Edward’s life. The early part of the film features a grainy, washed-out palette; while the later period is clean and saturated with colour. Italian composer Umberto Smerilli perfectly complements the visuals with a remarkable score that flits between light and dark themes.
In the lead role, Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) does probably his best work in years as Edward. The role clearly stretches him, and he rises to the challenge Schimberg’s script throws down. Renate Reinsve – the breakout star of The Worst Person in the World – is once again luminous as Ingrid. But Adam Pearson (Under the Skin) strolls away with the movie as the charming Oswald.
It’s safe to say you won’t see many movies like A Different Man this year. This is a great film if you can tap into its oblique rhythms and quirky cadences. This isn’t a mainstream film by any means, but if your tastes run to the darkly quirky and the challenging, this could be for you.
David Edwards
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David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
