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The desire to stand out in a crowd is natural. Yet, not to a degree that you raise eyebrows. In Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, Edward (Sebastian Stan) lives with neurofibromatosis – a rare condition that results in facial disfiguration. Mortal joys such as friendships, relationships, and socializing are absent in his life. As his wish to be an actor remains unfulfilled, a beautiful woman named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) begins to live next door. She expresses empathy and friendliness towards him.
The appearance card will take you somewhere. You could be a model walking down the ramp or a circus entertainer. Closer to our times, a different attribute would make you a subject of curiosity. Edward perplexed between his dreams and years of living in oblivion, signs up for an experimental procedure that permanently alters his. Now a handsome man, Edward decides to “kill” himself and takes up the identity of Guy Moratz – who eventually becomes the face of a real estate agent. In a brief time, the man gets looked at for different reasons.
He finds Ingrid, a budding playwright, to be conducting auditions for a play based on her interactions with Edward. As Guy, he signs up to be lead, and it’s all going fine until a charming man (Adam Pearson as Oswald) with the same health condition as Edward shows up and inadvertently changes Guy’s renewed life.
In A Different Man, Schimberg constructs the emotional journey of a marginalized person with remarkable detail. Edward’s face is deformed and it extends to his posture and gait. There is a natural slouch in his body. He would want to hide and be invisible sometimes but can’t. In an early scene, you see him on a subway train, trying to cover his face upon spotting a possible threat. In unimaginable ways, it is believable how a man like him would carve a net of self-defense. In a recurring scene, we observe a human statue on the street getting perturbed by him. Edward’s transformation process is not a pleasant sight. Yet the results induce happiness until we think, “Now what?”
Edward’s romantic interest in Ingrid is an angle of great interest. She is a person who touches his face when no one dares. She goes to the extent of recommending him a cream that’ll do good to his face. Through Edward’s peephole, we see young, attractive men traipsing in and out of her apartment. Would she develop a sexual interest in Edward if he too becomes a ‘regular’ man?’
A Different Man throws many parallels in the meantime. First is the broken ceiling in Edward’s apartment which he never reports. In a crucial scene, Guy meets a serviceman and a casting agent. Staged cleverly between the hallway and the house, Schimberg masterfully uses the limited space while allowing Ingrid to overhear their conversations. The serviceman returns in a later act where Edward does something that startles him but not without pricking our conscience. If the primary narrative arc carves a dystopian Yorgos Lanthimos-like world, the film’s politics of love and dreams are as conventional as a regular drama.
That doesn’t mean A Different Man is not without its share of flaws. There is a visible lack of information about Edward’s background. It is amusing how Ingrid never cares to discover details about his past – at least as a research mechanism for her upcoming play. She does not bother about Guy’s whereabouts either. All these discrepancies somehow do not tie well as the film leads to a gruesome pre-climax. It all makes sense from a distance. The film’s semi-dystopian texture allows it that leeway, but Schimberg also attempts to make it a realistic story – to the extent that there are times when it feels like a biopic.
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Sebastian Stan uses his ‘vulnerable hunk’ aura to internalize Edward’s pain. It is a very difficult mindscape to express in the absence of words. And you can’t employ too many lines because the man was never chatty. Stan communicates beautifully with his redolent gaze and controlled gait, delivering what must be among the year’s finest performances and also his personal best. Renate Reinsve is steadily evolving into a mainstream force to reckon with. A Different Man is not about her. Yet the actor registers a strong impression whenever she comes on screen. Watch out for her in a scene with Stan where she asks him to put on the mask. Adam Pearson is as compelling as Oswald. As much as you feel for his condition, you would also feel angry about him robbing Edward’s dream role. The actor lends the richness of his experiences to manifest Oswald with authenticity.
A Different Man ends on a gutting note. There comes a moment where Edward’s empathy for Oswald triggers something big. It is as heartbreaking as it is heartening. Schimberg makes his leading man a picture of courage whose arduous journey makes him more human than you think. The closing scenes will make you brim with gratitude for all three. Towards Ingrid for displaying kindness and bringing out a beautiful story on stage. For Oswald for being the fighter he is and for wholeheartedly embracing life. And lastly, towards Edward for never having forgotten the man he once used to be.
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
A Different Man was screened at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 which kicked off on October 18, 2024.
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