Depressing, awkward, funny, cringey and shocking. They’re all words that can be used to describe “A Different Man,” in a good way.
The movie stars Sebastian Stan as Edward, a man who’s not only struggling to make it as an actor in New York, but also suffering neurofibromatosis. The condition leaves him with tumors that have grown on his face.
However, he manages to enter a trial run for a new procedure that can remove the tumors and completely treat the condition. The treatment ends up working, giving Edward the life he’s always wanted, at least that’s what he thinks.
“A Different Man” is reminiscent of a Monkey’s Paw story, where one should be careful what they wish for. In that sense, it’s kind of like a “Twilight Zone” episode, but with a dark comedy twist. All things considered, it really works out well.
Edward’s journey is a tragic comedy, with some of that tragedy being self-inflicted. It’s regularly funny, wonderfully awkward and endlessly watchable as Edward’s life goes on an absolute roller coaster.
This marks the third film for director Aaron Schimberg, who also writes, and he does a great job with the picture. His ability to create a film that has some gnarly body horror, laugh-out-loud moments and real human moments all working together is impressive. The writing is really on point, too
The man at the center of the movie certainly deserves plenty of credit for really helping the movie excel. Stan is sensational in this role, amazingly capturing what the character is going through and struggling with in every scene. The way he portrays the character’s mental spiral is especially well portrayed.
Adam Pearson also deserves his fair share of praise, though, for playing Edward’s rival, Oswald, who also has neurofibromatosis. Pearson has a great way of playing the character, enriching him with a ton of charm and charisma, that precisely gets under Edward’s skin, fueling the main character’s destructive path.
The one area where “Different Man” does struggle a bit is in its transition from the first half to the second half. It does feel a bit jarring, to say the least, as the movie takes a turn and time skips forward a bit. That’s not to say the movie needed to dedicate an enormous amount of time to the transition in Edward’s life, it’s simply that it didn’t feel as smooth as one would like.
One can still appreciate, though, how Schimberg’s film continuously cranks up the purposeful discomfort. It makes every humorous bit and stinging character moment that much more effective.
“A Different Man” is an inventive dark comedy that pushes boundaries. It’s well directed and features great acting. The film’s transition to the second half knocks the movie out of its groove a bit, but for the most part it’s a good film. 4.2 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 
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