Films for Breakfast

The concept of the grass isn’t always greener on the other side isn’t exactly new to cinema; so many of our favorite films take this general expression and find different ways to express it. The latest film from writer/director Aaron Schimberg, A Different Man, takes its own approach with this idea and runs with it into a darkly hilarious and dramatic tale of ego, identity, and performance. However, even those huge ideas feel like I’m simplifying how many tricks the film has up its sleeve as Schimberg has delivered one of the most audacious, captivating, and confident films I’ve seen in quite some time. The film follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor with a genetic condition where tumors grow beneath his skin – especially underneath his face, leaving him disfigured.

After a radical new surgery arises with the potential for Edward to shed the tumors and disfigurement, he finds himself compelled to give it a try as he tires of his daily life. Quickly after starting this procedure, he finds himself shedding not only everything he perceived as wrong with his face but also shedding out habits from his old life, turning into a completely different man in more ways than one. Where I feel most films would take this turning point and turn this into a heartwarming tale about how Edward never needed the surgery to love and appreciate himself, A Different Man takes a more bold and thought-provoking approach on examining our sense of self. The film wisely finds a beautiful gray area for Edward as a character, where you immediately empathize with his loneliness and longing to be accepted for his talents despite his condition. However, it doesn’t shy away from the fact that, just like everyone else, he is a deeply flawed person.

Can you blame a person for pint-up aggression and ego when they’ve had to live life with such a condition? Does his disfigurement actually make him Edward or is it what’s inside? The film doesn’t exactly pose a straight-forward answer to these questions, or any of the sub-questions that these generate – it simply finds clever ways to expose them throughout and throw Edward in situations that challenge him as both the new person he’s become, the old person he was, and the question of whether or not there is actually any difference. A lot of this is so compelling from the moment the film begins – sequences early on with Edward’s neighbor Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) or Edward simply trying to make it through the day using public transportation without being mocked or judged feel especially effective as you watch them; Aaron Schimberg has a true gift for writing situations like this as darkly and empathetically as he possibly can.

The film kicks into high gear when Oswald (Adam Pearson), another actor who lives with the same condition that Edward once did, comes into the story. Oswald provides a fascinating question for Edward – did his condition ever matter as much as he thought it did? Sure, it undeniably had a huge effect on his sense of self and his day-to-day life; how could it not? But Edward sees Oswald so effortlessly express himself in ways that he feels as if he never could, and still can’t even with his newfound face. Narratively, this is where A Different Man truly skyrockets into becoming more than just a standard tale about identity but a whole Kaufman-esque meditation on ego, loneliness, art, and persona.

Aaron Schimberg’s screenplay is one for the books, as it feels both so tightly knit-together and full of thought-provoking ideas, but never beholden to a single theme that it wants to linger on for too long. The film feels incredibly fluid and lively in the way that it jumps throughout time at its own leisure and isn’t afraid to spend longer lingering on certain areas than others. Schimberg’s direction and the cinematography from Wyatt Garfield also proves to be a perfect match for the screenplay, as they craft some truly haunting and unique imagery that bring New York and Edward’s life together in such a stunning way.

For a film that is largely about performance, A Different Man naturally features a sea of fantastic performances. Sebastian Stan, however, delivers his best work to date as Edward – he finds such a beautiful middle-ground within the character that expresses all of Ed’s best and worst qualities: his downright humanity, for better and worse. In the latter half of the film, he gets to truly stun and work off-of Adam Pearson, who turns in equally fantastic work. Pearson’s performance as Oswald is the perfect foil for Edward, as he lovingly and hilarious resembles everything that Edward both wanted before his surgery and still wants after. Pearson finds a delightful angle to play him with genuinely hilarious and tender moments that has you falling for him as a character, and in the same breath, you can see Edward annoyed at everyone’s adoration for Oswald. It’s truly fantastic stuff.

As I sit here trying to figure out whether or not I have any issues with the film, I find myself realizing that it’s less about having nitpicks but instead it’s more about how I watched such a thematically full and delightfully overwhelming film; I can’t quite label it as a masterpiece just yet, as I feel like I need another viewing. However, it is undeniably one of the best films I’ve had the pleasure of watching this year and worked in every way possible for me. In a just world, A Different Man would be sweeping the Awards discussion at the moment with direction, screenplay, and performance nominations bound to happen. Regardless of how far the film makes it in that arena, I truly believe it will be remembered for years to come as an incredibly audacious and darkly hilarious drama. It truly feels unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and how often can you say that nowadays?

4.5/5