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Some of the best films are the ones that do not give us the simple answers, and films even better than that don’t give us any answers at all and instead challenge their audience to rearrange their way of thinking or at least contemplate their already preconceived notions. Director Aaron Schimberg seems to love to dwell in the in-between. Never picking a finite solution but rather knowing that both sides to a story of a problem are worthy of being addressed. There is an obsession with both beauty and horror in his lates film A DIFFERENT MAN that much like his previous works come to battle with the false empathy of the world as well as the real compassion only a select few know how to display. A film so dedicated to the ambitious actor that you an only find on the streets of New York so when things begin to spin out of control it only feels natural that it happens to a theater actor hellbent on never losing the role he was born to play. Comical one moment upsetting the next and always gruesome A DIFFERENT MAN can feels like an obstacle course in trying to fully understand comprehend Schimberg’s contradicting ideas, but it is a film that benefits from its messiness. This is not the Knives Out joke of someone claiming its genius when in reality the trickery is just dumb, but no A DIFFERENT MAN actually knows the ideas it wants to present but when your main elements are beauty and horror the thin line between the two actually grows larger making the contradictions as plain as day. Thankfully Schimberg wants to have plenty of laughs along the way especially with his lead performer who allows the film to still stick to its satirical roots, but also feel empathetic at every turn even if you are dealing with the worst people in the world. A theme that eventually finds its way onto its audience making us beg the question, “what is my role in all of this?” The answer won’t come easy and like most great art has too many factors to fully put into place.

Edward (Sebastian Stan) has a migraine. A man with facial disfigurement, when we first meet Edward the actor he is shooting an infomercial on how to treat people with facial disfigurements in the work place. Like most people with disfigurements in the real world their roles in film and television often include playing people with said disfigurements. The film immediately sparks a debate on representation and the notion of using prosthetics for a good actor or hiring someone with said disfigurement who possibly cannot act. Before you start trying to answer for yourself just know the film chooses not to but instead allow for both sides to exist. Sebastian Stan as Edward is in full facial prosthetics all done by the wonderful makeup designer Michael Marino. Seriously all credit to Marino and his team for making Edwards design always feel empathetic and never cruel or shocking. For a film that becomes quite gruesome it never feels distasteful in its body horror elements. Edward is a recluse in his own mind. He knows the world can be cruel to people who look like him and most likely have been. He shudders at the local drunk on the subway and the teenagers who may or may not even notice him. His broken down apartment has a leak quickly turning into mold and set decorator Fiona Mitchell and production designer Anna Kathleen have a blast turning this New York world (fully shot in NYC) into a nightmarish hellscape that can compete right with the madness of “Beau is Afraid.” But when Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) a beautiful new neighbor moves in Edward’s instant attraction to her still feels hindered since he believes his face holds him back from any possible romance with Ingrid. It doesn’t help that Ingrid a wannabe playwright is as narcissistic as they come. Her kindness towards Edward feels cruel and almost babying the man. Stan as Edward on the other hand is tremendous at playing into that notion of wanting to speak up for himself but always using his disfigurement as a way out of it.

Edward’s pain mostly coming from within raises an interesting question when he is able to go under a new medical procedure to “cure” his face. Is Edward wrong for doing this since he is buying into the absurd beauty standards set by the world, or who are we to tell anyone how to live their life? Neither answer can be held to too much accountability, but Schimberg turns this on its head when Edward now fully looking like Sebastian Stan finds his life full of acceptance allowing him to party with the locals at his bar, sleep with countless women and even moves into his own Patrick Bateman style apartment. But after faking his own death his life sprials even more when he re-encounters Ingrid who is now putting on a play titled “Edward” re-claiming her experience with the man she believed she once knew. When Edward finds his way into the play (knowing going under the name Guy) his romance with Ingrid is thrown away when Oswald (Adam Pearson) a man with the same disfigurement as Edward is cast in the play as the “before” Edward. Oswald is the confident man Edard never was, and Pearson comes in like a runaway train running over everything and everyone in his path and is instead met with love and acceptance. Is it his confidence? Are they patronizing him? Or contrary to Edward’s beliefs are people today truly not phased by someone with facial disfigurement of any degree? Pearson is a riot playing into that annoying neighbor who frankly has never done anything wrong to you. Everyone lives next to one and seeing Edward’s frustration towards him is some of the films funniest moments as it goes along with the old ideas that actors can and will always be replaced by the next new thing.

A DIFFERENT MAN tonally grows from nightmarish body horror to full on actors mayhem satire, but thanks to Schimberg’s script and directing it flows naturally. Thankfully the film also always feels lived in due to Stan’s performance which is not only a career best for the Marvel star, but also a reminder of the dedication the actor has always carried whether it or not the script lived up to par to his abilities. Edward/Guy is that former NYU theater kid who gets one off off Broadway play and suddenly feels like he’s Daniel Day-Lewis, but what adds more humorous salt to the wound is that Edward unlike Day-Lewis does not need to do any method acting, he’s lived in to the point where the whole god damn play carries his name and Ingrid’s rearrangements of facts infuriates him. How can she claim to be a truthful writer when Edward knows all of this are lies and he is becoming just another product that art uses to create false empathy. The film exceeds at allowing us to feel for Edward and know his condition is being manipulated but when Oswald is able to accept this and see the value of the play, it causes Edward to grow more into dangerous territory. Throughout the film there are several hysterical references to actors gone mad including John Wilkes Booth as well as those who just wanted fame such as Joh Hinckley Jr., so even when the film enters more violent areas it isn’t too far stretched of ideas. Edward himself may have always been this kind of person who has actually used his own disfigurement to keep himself locked down.

A DIFFERENT MAN throws a lot at you and wants you to save some of your thoughts for when the film has long gone and ended. It doesn’t choose a scapegoat but in fact much of its discussion around true beauty is put right on display. We Know Ingrid is the worst person in the world, we know Oswald is the confident man Edward never could be or at least chose not to be, but above all else we know Edward can still be a victim of this cruel world that only truly accepted him after reconfiguring his entire face and life. A man whose ambitions are great but hindered by the limits the world has put on him. Schimberg a man who has always cast people with facial disfigurements in his movies does not deserve a pat on the back for doing so (I’m sure he’d agree) but instead an acknowledgement that far too few in this industry do it unless it they can manipulate them for the purpose of the story. Edward with his new found face may seem like a “different man” but as Oswald tells him he has not changed one bit old friend, the industry itself is the same way. A place where acceptance only works if you fit the role and can look the part.

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A DIFFERENT MAN HAD ITS NEW YORK PREMIERE AT THE NEW DIRECTORS NEW FILMS FESTIVAL. IT WILL BE RELEASED IN THEATERS SEPTEMBER 13 FROM A24