A Different Man
2024
***
Director: Aaron Schimberg
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson, C. Mason Wells, Owen Kline, Charlie Korsmo, Patrick Wang, Michael Shannon, Neal Davidson, Jed Rapfogel, Miles G. Jackson
Edward, an aspiring actor with a severe facial deformity, undergoes a radical medical procedure to change his appearance, but the transformation doesn't bring the happiness or acceptance he hoped for. Aaron Schimberg's darkly comic drama is like a cross between The Substance and Synecdoche, New York. In the terrific first half, the lonely protagonist moves through a world that either overlooks him or stares too long. The film gradually lost me in its messy second half, where he attempts to reclaim his old identity after Oswald, another man with facial disfigurement, portrays his former self on stage. Although Schimberg offers some poignant observations about art imitating life and life imitating art, few things annoy me more than fictional writers (in this case, Edward's old neighbour) who rewrite their lives word for word and call it art. Sebastian Stan gives a strong dual performance, but Adam Pearson steals the show as the jovial Oswald.
