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.
Writer-director Aaron Schimberg’s latest film is a surreal, singular tale of one man’s desire to self-actualize. Sebastian Stan is Edward, a man overcome by the reality of his appearance, intent on curing his alienation and transcending his self — and socially enforced artistic potential. Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve carefully embody foils to Edward’s ambition, an artistic and philosophical juxtaposition of his, and our, conceits.
Through a haunting score and folkloric magical realism, a unique psychological thriller emerges. A stylish vision of the theatrical currents of New York stages a universe where reality and fiction blend in beautiful ways — where lies, expectations and internal turmoil weave a man’s consequentially incipient senses of truth and becoming. A DIFFERENT MAN is a reflexive allegory for the modern tortured artist, a subversive, gothic fairytale that deftly begets obsession. (Synopsis courtesy of Sundance Film Festival 2024 Program Guide)
“A DIFFERENT MAN prioritizes laughs over proselytizing. There is inherent humor in the absurdity of the situation — which takes a momentary detour near sci-fi territory during Edward’s transformation — but [director Aaron] Schimberg wrings laughs out of deftly staged awkwardness.” —Drew Gillis, A.V. Club
“An exhilarating blend of body horror, dark comedy, sci-fi and romance…. Much like life, once you get comfortable in the rhythm of A DIFFERENT MAN, [Aaron] Schimberg shoves you out of your seat and forces you to question what you thought you knew about yourself and those sitting next to you.” —Katarina Docalovich, Paste Magazine
“A deliriously surreal psycho-thriller that complicates its own identity at every turn. By refracting Brian De Palma’s self-reflexiveness and the Coen brothers’ mordant fatalism through the prism of his most personal obsessions, [Aaron] Schimberg creates a house of mirrors so brilliant and complex that it becomes impossible to match any of his characters to their own reflections, and absolutely useless to reduce the movie around them to the stuff of moral instruction.” —David Ehrlich, IndieWire