Courtesy A24
A funny side effect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that it can become difficult to take its principal actors seriously outside of the superhero oeuvre. Case in point? Sebastian Stan, aka the Winter Soldier, who can’t quite seem to shake his Bucky Barnes character from Captain America and beyond. With filmmaker Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, however, Stan not only proves his willingness to delve deeper into a character than he can in more mainstream films, he achieves one of the finest performances of his career.
Stan is Edward, a would-be actor with an intense and tumor-heavy facial deformity. Edward’s penchant for people-pleasing makes his life a continuum of doormat-esque drudgery. But when the beautiful Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door, Edward enters into an experimental medical trial to address his affliction. And miracle of miracles—it works.
Edward fakes his own death to become Guy, a smooth-talking real estate agent and player. All is well, until he discovers Ingrid has written a play based on his former life, leading him to audition as Guy and nab the lead role while beginning a fling with his former neighbor. This might be romantic if not for Edward hiding his true identity.
Enter Oswald (Adam Pearson), a Brit with a similar face deformity to Edward’s whose charismatic personality not only beguiles and befuddles our anti-hero, it gets him kicked out of the show based upon his life. What follows is a maddening march through nervousness, insecurity, jealousy and the inescapable truth that we are who we are, exterior be damned.
Schimberg’s script is a bizarre but relatable tour of neuroses compounded by the stares and glances that define Edward’s very existence. When he’s at his lowest, pre-medical trial, it’s easier to feel empathy for him. Or maybe it’s sympathy. Once he’s beautiful, however, he becomes impatient, dark, aggressive. Stan does both so well, from the shrinking violet of the early-film character to the entitled monster Edward becomes later. Against Reinsve’s wide-eyed and seeming innocence, Stan finds true magic, and Schimberg deftly reveals each character’s complexity across years, from the intoxicating silliness of fledgling romance to the cold callousness of dying relationships. Ingrid represents honesty in all its forms—even that which seems cruel—and Reinsve’s take is brilliantly grounded.
Pearson is a bonafide scene-stealer, however, and so effortlessly showcases how attitude and confidence trump all else. Schimberg’s writing is particularly important here, as Edward’s burgeoning hate for a sweet man is the type of thing we’ve all experienced despite our better judgment, though his particular brand of rage twists him into something particularly ugly—it also forces us to reckon with how we think and behave when it comes to physical aesthetics.
That reckoning is the important part. In exploring how society reacts to beauty and ugliness, Schimberg holds a mirror up to his audience. This becomes uncomfortable fast, but the best films often wield discomfort to great effect. We are who we are, but we can choose to be better.
9
+Brilliantly written; career-best for Stan
-Strange final act moments feel out of place
A Different Man
Directed by Schimberg
With Stan, Reinsve and Pearson
CCA, Violet Crown Cinema, R, 112 min.
