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A Different Man popped up on my watchlist recently and I read the plot. What interested me was a guy called Adam Pearson was in it. I’ll mention him again later, but on with the review.
The movie stars Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson, Miles G. Jackson, Patrick Wang and Neal Davidson. Aaron Schimberg writes and directs.
The Story
This is what piqued my interest in this movie. The plot is:
An aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to transform his appearance. But his dream new face soon turns into a nightmare.
Edward (Stan) was born with severe facial disfigurement. He’s shy, lacks confidence and can never get used to people staring at him. One day, Ingrid (Reinsve) moves in next door, and his life is then suddenly turned upside down. Ingrid doesn’t care about his looks, but Ed is too nervous to make a move on her.
He is offered the opportunity to take a new drug that could cure his condition. The drug does ‘cure’ him and his face becomes ‘normal’ and he ends up looking like Stan. He kills off Edward, telling people he committed suicide and takes on the persona of Guy.
Guy starts to live a life without his old face, he becomes an estate agent and even models for the agency. He learns that Ingrid has written a play about Edward. Guy auditions for the play and gets the part. In the play, he’s going to wear a mask of his old face.
Out of nowhere comes Oswald (Pearson), a man with the same facial disfigurement that Edward had. The difference is, that Oswald has never let his face hold him back. He is confident, liked by everyone and starts to take over the play.
What makes you special?
In the main image, it had Pearson sitting next to Stan. I recognised Pearson from a show on UK a few years back, called The Undateables. It was about people with learning differences or disfigurements going on dates. I have worked with people with LD and they are awesome. I liked the show and it was interesting.
Pearson was on there, looking for love, but not many ladies could see past his face. Since then, he’s become a TV presenter and also starred in Under the Skin with Scarlett Johanson. How cool is that?
I will say, in Under the Skin, he had to strip off in front of Johanson, but it was in an interesting role. The main thing about it was it was due to his look that he was in movies like Under the Skin, and now, A Different Man.
Pearson in Under the Skin
Stan is a good-looking guy, but at the same time, he’s a dime a dozen. Pretty much everyone in Hollywood is good-looking, well, apart from Melissa McCarthy. Trying to make it in movies is hard work as most people look the same. You could audition for something and have 30 other ‘clones’ sit next to you. What makes you special?
Stand out from crowd
For Pearson, it’s his face that makes him special. This is what A Different Man is about, someone unique becomes another face in the crowd. Sure, it offers him certain advantages, but at the same time, he’s lost his uniqueness.
It’s all about perspective. At the beginning of the movie, Edward is a recluse, with no confidence in himself. Sure, people stare at him and make him feel like an outcast, but it’s how he reacts to that.
Oswald has never let others rule who he is. He’s a fun, outgoing and interesting person. If there’s a chance to go skydiving, he’ll go. When the karaoke is fired up, he’s the first one up there singing his heart out.
He could have stayed in, locked himself away, feeling sorry for himself, but he didn’t. He decided to live life to the full, get out there and let everyone see him. His face was still unique, but people who got to know him didn’t care.
Edwards’s journey shows what it’s like to just fit in with the crowd. Like Syndrome said in The Incredibles:
And when everyone’s super… no one will be.
Overall
A Different Man was really interesting and I can’t help but think it over and over. Someone like Pearson would have never been in a movie like this if he looked like everyone else. Because of his uniqueness, he got a role in a very well-thought-out movie.
Stan is really good in this. At first, I was a little annoyed he was in make-up, but his journey is really good, he is slowly becoming one of my favourite actors. I’m pleasantly surprised by Pearson’s acting, he was excellent in this. I really liked the direction in this as well, it’s almost like a documentary at times, not just a clean and polished movie. It gave it a sense of realism that worked well.
This is a movie that might have slipped under your radar, but it’s definitely worth a watch. It’s a very dark comedy in places and makes you think afterwards. I’m giving it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
A Different Man is now streaming online.
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