It’s one of the films that rocked film festivals earlier in the year, namely Sundance and Berlinale, and is being previewed for French audiences at the Deauville American Film Festival.
Sebastian Stan is a “different man”
Directed by Sebastian Stan, who won the Silver Bear for Best Performance, this feature film written and directed by Aaron Shimberg and produced by A24 also captivated and moved audiences at the Deauville Festival.
It must be said that A Different Man does not leave you indifferent. The film tells the story of Edward (Sebastian Stan), a man who tries to turn his life around after undergoing facial reconstructive surgery for his neurofibromatosis.
But he begins to fixate on Oswald, the actor who plays him in a theater production based on Edward’s former life.
Oswald is played by Adam Pearson, an actor who also suffers from neurofibromatosis, a serious and rare genetic disease of which there are several types that can cause tumors or malformations.
The rest of the cast also includes Renate Reinswe, Joachim Trier’s Julie’s Swedish Revelation (in 12 chapters) and 74th Cannes Film Festival Best Actress winner Charlie Korsmo (Hook), Owen Klein, Patrick Wang, K. Mason. Welles and Michael Shannon as himself.
An irreverent and delightful tragicomedy about the game of appearances and pretensions
“I see it as a comedy, but if you see it as a tragedy, I don’t mind”This is how Aaron Schimberg, the writer and director of A Different Man, presented his film at the preview of the Deauville American Film Festival.
And it’s a tone we didn’t expect in this false existentialist tale mixed with horror, thrillers, melodrama and satire. Divided into three distinct but uncodified parts, A Different First follows the daily life of Edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor suffering from neurofibromatosis who falls in love with his new neighbor Ingrid (Renate Reinswe).
Leading a quiet and reserved existence in which he apologizes for his life, Edward sees a new medical experiment as an opportunity to “cure” and change his appearance. In a painful and terrifying mutation worthy of a David Cronenberg body horror movie, Edward finally emerges from the coffin and changes his life radically thanks to his “new beauty”.
He becomes a “guy”, a “normal, average guy”, who nevertheless goes through a new existential crisis when he discovers that Ingrid is staging a play about him and his previous life. Edward then feels the need to play his own character – the role of his life – and reclaim his existence, which he didn’t really get until he donned the schizophrenic masquerade.
And the final blow then comes from Oswald (Adam Pearson), a man also suffering from neurofibromatosis who is extremely outgoing and succeeds in everything professionally and personally. The latter will become Edward’s obsession and nightmare, as he represents everything he wanted to be in his previous life.
A Different Man is a provocative and daring tragicomic tale that ironies as much as it treats with malice and surrealism the overdramatization of self-image in a society of appearances and self-centered thinking and the anxieties and anxieties that consume us. inside.
Notable is the impressive performance of Sebastian Stan – striking, unrecognizable and with high comic potential – who can claim an Oscar nomination for best actor after the Berlinale prize, but also Adam Pearson, a ray of British sunshine. This over-the-top New York setting, shot mostly in 16mm and highlighted by Umberto Smerilli’s psychedelic soundtrack.
We can count on this unexpected but delicious duo to grab us and drive us crazy in this irreverent game of mirrors, stories, stories and insights into ourselves and the world around us.
“A Different Man” opens in US theaters on September 20, but it doesn’t yet have a release date in France.
The 50th edition of the Deauville American Film Festival will be held from September 6 to 15, 2024.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
