“A Different Man” Puts New Face on Old Theme

A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg, 2024) 3 out of 5 stars

Actor Adam Pearson (Ruby Splinter) has neurofibromatosis, an incurable disorder that can result in benign tumors on the face. Both he and his condition are at the forefront of A Different Man, the new film from director Aaron Schimberg (Chained for Life, which also starred Pearson). It tells the tale of a struggling thespian, Edward, who agrees to undergo a radical new treatment for neurofibromatosis that promises to remove the tumors that, he feels, have always prevented him from living the life he was meant to have. The process works, though it turns out that true beauty and confidence lie within.

Pearson doesn’t show up until about halfway through the story. Sebastian Stan (Dumb Money)—an actor without neurofibromatosis—plays Edward, wearing a prosthetic mask for the early part of the role. Edward is deeply unhappy and depressed, and can’t even manage to report a growing hole in the ceiling above his Manhattan apartment until it becomes a repulsive eyesore. The only real light in his day comes from the woman who moves in next door.

She is Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World), an aspiring playwright who offers a window on a universe Edward believes cut off from him. She is beautiful and sexy, attracting lovers with ease. Still, Ingrid takes an interest in Edward, spending time with him both in his apartment and out on the town. Her attentions are not romantic—she draws away once when he mistakes her regard for something else—though she offers plenty of friendly affection.

Slowly at first, then suddenly in one great burst of shedding skin, the experimental drugs do their job, revealing a startled-looking, conventionally handsome face underneath (i.e., Stan without the mask). In a drunken night out on the town alone, Edward finds that no one shies away from him (did they before? he thinks they did …). He even hooks up with a woman in a bar. It’s a brave new world. When he returns to his place and runs into the building super, finally come to fix the ceiling, Edward tells the man his name is Guy and that “Edward” is dead. Fade to black.

Fade in to Guy, a successful real-estate agent living in an upscale studio apartment. A woman who has just spent the night is leaving. He’s living the bachelor dream. Or is he? There’s a void inside he cannot fill. But then, one day, he spies Ingrid from afar. She’s auditioning actors for her first play. It’s about Edward.

One thing leads to another and—courtesy of a mask of his old face that his doctors made for him at the start of treatment, as a souvenir—Guy/Edward lands the lead role. He also starts sleeping with Ingrid. His dreams have come true.

And that’s when Pearson shows up, as Oswald, another man with neurofibromatosis. Unlike Guy/Edward, Oswald does not see his condition as a barrier to full participation in life. He’s a gregarious extrovert with friends galore. His appearance explains why, earlier in the film, strangers would come up to Edward as if they knew him. Oswald’s personality and charisma are seemingly boundless.

Unfortunately for Guy/Edward, Oswald’s arrival ruins everything. Little by little, Guy’s carefully constructed reality begins to fall apart. We are, after all, only as good as how we see ourselves. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the moral of the movie.

The performances are all strong, and much of the writing—including of dialogue and Ingrid’s platitude-filled stage play—proves engaging. Nevertheless, some of the later plot turns make only limited sense, and the overall film overstays its welcome once it becomes clear what the larger message is intended to be. Ultimately, A Different Man is not all that different in its thematic aspirations from your average Disney/Pixar fare. To thine own self be true. Great. What else is new?

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.