Sébastien Stan has proven himself a prolific actor in recent years. Portraying Donald Trump this year may have been his most impressive role to date, but it’s nothing like the strange character he plays in A Different Man. He plays two sides of the same character until he doesn’t know what’s real or not real. It’s an out-there performance from an actor who’s doing more and more off-the-wall characters.

Edwards Lemial (Sébastien Stan) is an actor in New York City. He otherwise tries to keep his head down and stay to himself. That is until a pretty woman Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door to him. They start to become friends despite his facial anomaly. He has a disability that has his face all scared up. This is the typical face a guy could get a girl like her, but despite that they become friends. Acting/writing is their main interest with each other. Until Edward decides to go be a guinea pig for an experimental medical procedure/ trial. His life changes drastically after this.

The director Adam Schimberg asks a big question with this film. He asks the viewer if the outside of what we all look like is more important than the inside of who we are. Ask someone who has always had problems with my outer appearance. I can honestly say it’s not what you look like on the outside that matters. It’s what you have in your heart that truly matters. People see that more than they do our beauty even though we are programmed to like outer beauty. It’s inner beauty that truly matters most.

Adam Pearson plays a version of himself. A disfigured man who has entered into the lives of the once-disfigured man and his next-door neighbor the beautiful Reinsves character. Pearson’s character is like a disease in this man’s life. He infests every ounce in his life. There is a metaphor here, but I can’t figure it out as of yet. Shimberg the director wants to say something important here, but I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. Even though I tried. 

As an outsider in society, I felt for this man and his plight. He was an outcast and found his savior in an experimental drug and procedure. My life hasn’t been as easy, but it’s also not got the crazy invader trying to take everything away either. Once something good happens you expect more of the same. Not a leech on your entire existence.  That’s what happens to Stan’s character. He finally gets what he wants and then it gets taken away. That’s not fair. Why would the writer want to tell this story instead of a happier one?

A Different Man was as frustrating to watch as it was fascinating. The performances by Stan and Reinsve were solid and kept me interested. Once Pearson’s character entered the picture I became uninterested in this film. The plight of Stan’s character and his journey was one I cared about and his neighbor was also fascinating. Her motivations made me curious.  The film as a whole was a mixed bag, but right up the alley for A24. They love acquiring or producing odd or weird movies. This fits into those categories perfectly fine. I just wasn’t invested in it in the second half as I was the first half.

2 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen