A Different Man is a dark comedy that certainly will not be for everyone, however Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson are a delight on screen together.
A Different Man is very much a dark comedy, with a lot of drama and trauma mixed in. Sebastian Stan plays an actor named Edward who decides to undergo an experimental medical treatment to transform his appearance. Doing so does not only alter his physical looks, but it doesn’t take long before he starts acting like a completely different person. He looses what makes him so special and likable.
Stan is phenomenal in this role, doing a wonderful job of showing that slow decent in Edward. He is eventually sent completely off the rails when a role that he was born to play goes to someone else – because of his new look. He ends up obsessed with trying to recapture the role, and in doing so loses himself even more.
The other actor is Oswald, played by Adam Pearson. He is charming, funny, and sweet – a really likable guy. This drives Edward absolutely mad.
Stan and Pearson are a complete joy to watch on screen together. Their chemistry is unmatched, and it becomes hard to not wish for them to just get along already. Oswald embodies what Edward wishes he could have been before his medical procedure – confident and outgoing. The dynamic here is intriguing and adds a layer to the film that is unforgettable.
A Different Man clocks in at just under two hours, but it actually feels longer. This is likely because there is a moment where the movie should have ended storytelling wise, but instead it keeps going with unneccesary moments that viewers simply do not need. Essentially, there is a shocking scene that should have been the end of the film, however the decision to keep going takes away from what works so well about that.
Throughout the film, Edward makes some truly strange decisions. Ones that do not seem to make sense at all. It is difficult to talk about without spoilers, but essentially he did a lot of this to himself, yet feels as if he deserves more. He loses what made him special, and it frustrating to watch his descent (even though Sebastian Stan perfectly portrays it).
Overall, A Different Man is entertaining, to say the list. It plants intriguing thoughts in the minds of viewers and will have many reconsidering the way they treat others, but most importantly rethinking the way they treat themselves.
Thanks to wonderful lead performances, this is something that will stick with audiences for a while after they watch it. A Different Man comes to theaters on September 20th.
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About A Different Man
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
A Different Man comes to theaters on September 20th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.