A Different Man Review

I KNOW WRITERS WHO USE SUBTEXT AND THEYRE ALL COWARDS

Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man is a masterful blend of humor and dark themes, a delicate balance that keeps the audience engaged and intrigued. It's not just about identity, shallow acting practices, hypocrisy, and society's terrible treatment of those with disabilities; it's also about Adam Pearson bursting into scenes like Austin Powers in his outrageously cool outfits. This hysterical dark comedy, with Sebastian Stan delivering a career-best performance, invites us to look into the mirror and examine who we are. It's a journey that may make us cringe and lose our minds with hideous laughter. The film's morbid charm, beautifully shot and framed with some of the best-lit scenes of the year, is a testament to its artistic brilliance and will leave you visually stimulated. A Different Man is undoubtedly one of 2024's best films, and that's not just Renate Reinsve's gaslighting me or our main protagonist; it's true!

The film's title, a Different Man, reflects the central theme of transformation and identity. It follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), who suffers from physical deformities and is allowed to be cured of them, which he believes will better his life entirely socially and mentally. After his transformation, a woman with which he was falling in love (Renate Reinsve) writes a play about his life before the procedure, and another man named Oswald (Adam Pearson), who has similar facial deformities, begins playing him in the play, from his former life. Edward starts to identify with the character of his former life. He becomes overwhelmingly jealous of Oswald, as if he has stolen his life from him, and Edward falls into madness over it.

We see his rise and fall, and even when Stann has the prosthetics on his face, we can feel every inch of his pain and isolation from the world. The film's cinematography, which captures the stark contrast between Edward's pre and post-transformation life, is a visual treat. We get an intimate look into his wants and needs early on in the film, even with the little but hilarious lines he delivers as Edward. Just changing his posture from his transformation made all the difference when the cure kicks in, and we see Stann's confidence grow but lose all of what he once was. His fall into frenzy is hilarious as we see him slowly lose his edge and mind. I was utterly in love with Renate Reinsve's red flags. A full of themself playwright (I mean oxymoron) who uses Edward as a cruel muse, but you can still see some romantic love. I was hanging onto every line she delivered, whether mean or hilarious. She was hooking me in just like Edward. Adam Pearson pops in about halfway through the film and takes this to new levels. He is absurdly funny in every scene but so genuinely sweet to Edward that you can't help but love this guy wholeheartedly. Watching the back and forth between Stann and Pearson is one of the film's significant highlights as we see Edward lose his life to Oswald.

The writing here is crisp. Every scene is written with such great, dark, comedic intent, and every line is delivered with the perfect tempo and tone, keeping the film on track. There is no subtly with the themes of A Different Man, and that rocks. I love that it's right in my face about what it means to be who you are; tell me how pretentious actors and writers can be and the horrible exploitation of people with disabilities or deformities; tell me how fucked we indeed are to each other! The film confronts you with all this and remains unflinchingly hysterical.

A Different Man is a twisted, dark take on a throwaway Woody Allen screenplay that is actually funny. Every scene feels perfectly staged, with confident directing and movement of the camera in each frame. Empathetic, manic, and unbelievably hilarious performances from our three main leads make this a must-see. Just make sure not to lose yourself in the end!

Final Score: 8.5/10

Written by Kevin J. Pettit