At The Movies: Sebastian Stan sheds his skin in black comedy A Different Man

A Different Man (M18)

112 minutes, now showing
★★★★☆

The story: Edward (Sebastian Stan) is an actor with neurofibromatosis trying to make a living in New York, but is stuck in roles that call for actors with disabilities. When attractive new neighbour Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in, his yearning for her causes him to volunteer for a new medical procedure with the promise of changing his life.

From the synopsis, there is every chance that this could have been a cautionary tale – man wishes to be rid of his handicap, man gets his wish, man receives consequences, good and bad.

A Different Man’s story conforms to the trope of the monkey’s paw on one level. On other layers, American writer-director Aaron Schimberg’s third feature playfully unpacks ideas about attractiveness and self-worth, the social value of beauty and the contrast between the way we see ourselves and how others see us. 

Stan puts on a strong dual performance as Edward, first with prosthetics and later without. The actor delivers on the film’s goal of psychological realism, heightened to a small degree with comic satire and body horror.

Edward is justifiably terrified to find his old self sloughing off like sticky mud. In his new body, his senses take a beating when he cannot reconcile what he sees in the mirror with how he conceives of himself. 

Norwegian actress Reinsve, who shone in the anti-romantic comedy The Worst Person In The World (2021), is excellent as the woman who creates chaos simply by being attractive and confident.  

Edward’s new-found success as a real estate agent underscores the way physical attractiveness opens doors, particularly in professions where personal presentation is crucial. 

Schimberg employs a play-within-a-play device that, while occasionally disorienting, allows for a deeper exploration of themes such as envy, self-hatred and authenticity. This structure also enables the film to critique the entertainment industry’s shallow portrayal of disabilities.

Adam Pearson, an actor with neurofibromatosis, plays Oswald, a man fully at ease with himself and his body. Just as Pearson is in real life, the character he plays is the well-adjusted paragon of self-acceptance. His charm allows him to be accepted into Edward’s social circles, the ones the pre-transformation Edward thought were out of his league. 

The stage is set for a showdown between Edward and Oswald. It culminates in a finale that feels rushed and overly dramatic, but that is a forgivable flaw in an otherwise provocative, well-acted film.

Hot take: A Different Man boldly explores identity and beauty through a disability lens, cleverly unpacking societal perceptions of attractiveness and self-worth.