Review: A Different Man

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Official synopsis: An aspiring actor Edward (Sebastian Stan) undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.

Sebastian Stan is having a hell of a year between this and his now Oscar nominated turn in The Apprentice. I still haven't seen that film, so I can't speak on it, but I'm very curious about his performance considering that nabbed him the Oscar and not this.

As you probably guessed, I loved Stan's performance in this. Edward is very meek and awkward with his condition at the beginning, then he goes through this painful (and gross) medical trial and decides to turn into a different man. At first, I was really annoyed with how Edward handled this situation, but the rest of the film was so good I soon let go of my annoyance. It's when Edward meets Oswald (Adam Pearson, who is an absolute delight) a man with the same condition, but none of the awkwardness that he really takes a turn. And Stan does all of this seamlessly. It helps that he has actors like Pearson and Renate Reinsve to play off of. The three of them together make a wonderful trio.

This works very well as a dark comedy and also a study on how we view people with disabilities. Renate's character in particular's journey is very fascinating with how she co-ops Edwards story for a play. There's even a bit of body horror thrown in there. I wish this had gotten a wider release in theaters. I feel like it could've been a real crowd pleaser.

A Different Man is now available to stream on Max.

Grade: A-

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