By Amanda Gilmore
Aspiring Actor Edward (Sebastian Stan) undergoes a radical facial reconstructive medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. However, his new face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play. A play based on himself — pre-surgery. Instead, theatre Director and Playwright Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) chooses Oswald (Adam Pearson) who meets the representation of the role. But Edward becomes fixated on the role and reclaiming what was lost.
A Different Man is a pitch-black comedic Psychological Thriller that confronts the themes of identity and representation in the arts. Writer-Director Aaron Schimberg isn’t afraid to tackle social issues in his films. Representation in Cinema has been a hot topic in recent years. But none have tackled this subject through the art form the debate surrounds like Schimberg.
To include both sides of the debate, Schimberg intelligently casts Stan (a truly stunning performance that only gets more enticing with each scene), who’s in full prosthetics and makeup for the surgery, as the facially disfigured Edward. Then he casts Pearson (who plays Oswald with charm and kinetic energy), an Actor who has facial disfigurement, as Oswald. This social commentary will work for some and not others. But at the very least it’s a film that has the power to get people talking and even change minds for the better.
Aside from the social commentary, A Different Man is shot beautifully on Kodak film and has a haunting score that unsettles the more Edward fixates on losing the role.
A24 has distribution of A Different Man but the film currently doesn’t have a release date.
A Different Man screens at Sundance ‘24:
Jan 21 at 8:00 PM at Eccles Theatre
Jan 22 at 9:00 AM at Eccles Theatre
Jan 25 at 9:15 PM at Rose Wagner Theatre
Jan 26 at 5:00 PM at Redstone Cinemas – 1
Jan 28 at 4:30 PM at Holiday Village Cinemas – 2
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