Finally got around to watching 'A Different Man'. Such an interesting film, the kind that you keep processing and analysing way after the end credits roll. At its core, it covers a very similar ground with 'The Substance', only to explore those themes from a totally different, almost opposite angle. Given how a big part of the plot has to do with the way society treats disability and disfigurement, it could have very easily failed or crossed a line for a hundred different reasons, and yet the film manages to maintain a balance and tell its story with empathy and heart, but also with a heavy dosage of surrealism and dark humour.
Adam Pearson hands down steals the show as Oswald, he is eloquent, funny, charismatic, and acts as a great contrast to Edward's character. But it's also good to see Sebastian Stan get the chance to flex his acting muscles outside of the MCU, and prove once again how skilled he is when it comes to transforming into the characters he plays. From the visible changes in body language highlighting his emotional state to his facial expressions, he gave a brilliant performance as Edward.
For nearly half of the film, we get to see several glimpses of his life as a socially awkward man with neurofibromatosis, how he is perceived by others, the shallowness, hypocrisy, and cruelty that society directs at him in the form of different interactions, small glances, and ignorant comments. We also get to know that he is an aspiring actor, and that he longs for companionship and finding a partner. After he undergoes his transformation, we see him pulling a complete 180, with a rising career in real estate, superficial relationships and sexual encounters, rejecting and leaving behind every aspect of his former self that he can, from his apartment to his own name, which only leads to a new, different form of emptiness for him.
It is indicative how when, as his new persona, he meets his former neighbour Ingrid again, perhaps the only substantial connection he had formed as Edward when we first met him, he immediately goes back to his old, maybe in a sense his "real" self, shedding the performative salesperson act, and returning to his more genuine awkwardness, mannerisms, and expressions.
The movie tackles many themes, from the shallowness of society to the stigma that is put on certain groups of people, the superficial standards and the importance that we put on looks, and how we treat each other (and our own selves) based on them. It also highlights how the way we perceive others can many times be misguided and can often lead to assumptions that are also false, as we never really know what goes on in someone's life. The biggest theme of 'A Different Man' is clearly the many forms of loneliness and isolation that exist, and how different people experience them, what external and internal factors affect them, and also how self-acceptance and self-love can serve as acts of defiance against societal expectations.
The film dares to ask many different questions, and though it doesn't really attempt to offer you all the answers, it definitely succeeds in making you think on a deeper level about things.
