A Different Man: Movie Review

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson

Director: Aaron Schimberg

Aaron Schimberg's film about duality, doppelgangers and desire is a curious beast.

On the one hand, the film's minimalist approach to plot threatens to cripple it, while on the other, its embracing of body horror and Kafka-esque nightmare pushes more into genre fare mixed with arthouse ambitions.

Stan plays Edward, a shy and introverted actor who has neurofibromatosis, a condition that leads to growths over his face. When a new neighbour Ingrid (The Worst Person in the World's Reinvse) moves in next door, Edward falls for her. But despite mutual flirtation, nothing eventuates, leading Edward to undertake an experimental process that could reduce his medical condition and give him a normal face.

Despite warnings of side effects, it's a roaring success and with a new face, Edward quits his apartment, gets a new job and a new life. But it's all upended when he follows Ingrid one day and discovers she's written a play about their relationship.

There's a perverted playfulness to parts of A Different Man that feels at odds with its more thoughtful provocative edges about how society views different people. And there are moments of body horror and discomfort early on that threaten to push the film in a certain direction - but wisely, it doesn't go there.

From a jazzy-led score, crash zooms and scenes of following, there's a 70s vibe that pervades much of this - along with the beige, washed-out aesthetics, much of A Different Man resembles a thriller, rather than the character portrait that emerges.

While Stan and Reinsve are impressive enough, with each playing their nervousness and uncertainties to a fault, it's Under The Skin's Pearson who impresses the most. A real-life neurofibromatosis sufferer, Pearson's Oswald, who shows up midway through, is the very antithesis of Edward.

Complete with swagger and charisma, his character triggers a meltdown in Edward, forcing his insecurities to the fore. And while Pearson may have the condition that Edward sheds, not once does Schimberg's direction dwell on it, making his character a genuinely great guy who is the energy that lights a room.

Ultimately, A Different Man is the kind of film that offers an intriguing premise, followed by a story that proves to be engaging as well.  It may occasionally dabble in broad strokes and a bit of a lack of direction with an ending that just seems to wither rather than soar, but it's a film worth applauding for its desire to do something different with a story premise that could have been depressingly familiar.