A Different Man
Synopsis: An unhappy man has a physical transformation and expects happiness. Things get horrifying.
—Trigger Warning— gore and discussion/scene of suicide
I was fooled by the Golden Globes. When Sebastian Stan won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, I decided I wanted to see his performance as Edward in A Different Man. I realize that an actor’s excellent work doesn’t an excellent movie make, but I had hope. I expected a dark comedy based on the trailer. Well, Golden Globes, A Different Man is indeed not a musical. But is it a comedy? Let’s investigate…
Sebastian Stan, Marvel’s Winter Soldier, plays Edward, an aspiring actor in New York City who has neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic condition that causes tumors on nerve tissue. The usually benign tumors can cause severe facial disfigurement. Lumps may be surgically removed. However, the development of new tumors cannot be prevented.
Sebastian Stan wears convincing makeup and prosthetics, showing his character’s very apparent facial tumors. We see him acting in an educational video, designed to show people in the workplace how to sensitively interact with and include fellow workers who have facial disfigurement. He’s playing a guy who is experiencing some pain, causing a “co-worker” to ask if he needs help. The director lets Edward know that he’s overacting and to tone down his groaning.
Edward is self-contained, communicating as little as possible with others. In fact, he avoids the other tenants in his building. His small apartment is dingey and dismal. There’s a big stain on the ceiling, and it’s getting worse. But he lets it go, to avoid interacting with the building’s super. As if his living situation isn’t depressing enough, the filmmaker is sure to have wardrobe dress Edward in America’s ugliest shirts and khakis.
I’m not sure how Edward makes ends meet, but we see him holing up in his apartment, eating take-out and watching YouTube videos on how to whistle. It seems a lost cause, because his facial deformities prevent him from executing the necessary movements. Finally, a bright spot…
Edward has a new neighbor, Ingrid (Renate Reinsve; acclaimed for The Worst Person in the World), an aspiring playwright. She runs into Edward in the hallway, at first gasping at his appearance (maybe his terrible clothes), then recovering herself and being friendly. She takes the lead in socializing, and lonely Edward is receptive. She tells him she wants to write her first original play. I’m not sure if that would go under a tourist visa. She certainly doesn’t have a sponsor for a job, but she’s enthusiastic about breaking into NY theater.
We don’t see Edward talking to anyone about his feelings or any voiceover from a diary, but you can see his consternation when Ingrid has a frequent male visitor.
The next time that Edward goes to his doctor for a checkup, he’s informed that there is an experimental drug that might cure his NF. Before you know it, he’s signed on the dotted line and his bizarro shiny-eyed doctor is getting him set for the procedure. A mask is made of his current face, so they can track progress. He’s jabbed with a syringe of medicine by another health professional who looks like she is disgusted by Edward’s appearance.
All of this is to prepare the audience for what we know will be coming; Edward will transform into a facsimile of handsome Sebastian Stan.
The movie flashes forward and we get to see if Edward is made happy by looking like Sebastian Stan. It seems that Edward has jettisoned everything about being Edward: changing his name, making a success of a new career. He’s even informed the medical team that was supervising his treatment Edward died. Alas, he’s in a pricey-looking apartment and no more hideous clothes. So far, so good, right?
I guess even New Yorkers can disappear and reappear with a new identity within the same borough. But Edward’s mien hasn’t changed. In fact, his fellow real estate agents tease him that he is a ‘Nervous Nelly.’ The same moniker that Ingrid had leveled at him in what seemed like a good-natured attempt at getting him to come out of his shell.
One day, walking through the city, Edward sees Ingrid and follows her. Edward, this is not a good idea. Keeping his distance, he slips into the theater she’s entered. There is a casting call for a play she wrote. The play is about a man with NF and the woman who falls for him. On impulse, Edward decides to audition. Ingrid likes his audition, but she says she was hoping to cast a man who is actually disabled, looks-wise. No problem, says Edward, I’ll wear a mask. And, apparently, put his new career on hold.
Because Edward wants to have it both ways– a pretty new face and a public exposition of his disfigured face– he’ll by walking a minefield of his own making.
The antagonist is Oswald, played by Adam Pearson, who has NF. Oswald has stopped by to audition for the lead, is informed that the role has been filled. He takes the news good-naturedly, and stays to watch rehearsal. And stays. Ingrid is eager to hear Oswald’s thoughts on the character. He’s brought into the play’s social network, much to Edward’s consternation. Pearson is effective with his cheerful needling of the increasingly jealous Edward.
Unlike Edward, who still seems unhappy, Oswald seems happy. He regales the group with stories and jokes. He’s never let his disability stop his ambitions, one of which is playing the saxophone well. Edward is quietly gobsmacked; he probably hasn’t even learned to whistle yet.
Everyone is bowled over by Oswald and he has no shortage of attractive women pursuing him. Before long Oswald is a thorn in Edward’s side. Determined to keep his secret and find some fatal flaw in Oswald, he takes to following him. He also starts making himself even more miserable by patronizing a bar full of cretins who give out blowies in semi-darkened corners and deliver the very worst karaoke performances.
The script gives Sebastian Stan plenty of opportunities to show off his acting skills; looking catatonic, going ballistic, weeping, etcetera. Good for you, S. Stan, you can do more than Marvel movies.
In the end, neurofibromatosis is just a device in A Different Man. No, Golden Globes it is not a comedy. Even a dark comedy should have some laughs; which this movie does not. It’s just one debasing experience after another for Edward’s character. Are we supposed to laugh at his morbid comeuppances?
Now! One good thing did come out of the movie for me. I started reading about neurofibromatosis and how the condition psychologically effects people. Check out the P.S. that follows this review, if you’d like to learn more.
P.S. Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder which causes tumors on nerve tissues, which can affect skin, brain, spinal cord and nerves. Vision and hearing may be negatively impacted.
NF manifests by the age of five, characterized by numerous cafe au lait spots and odd freckling patterns. Neurofibromas typically present in adolescence. A range of treatments, like Acceptance and Commitment therapy, to address depression and withdrawal reported by kids with NF. (In a 2021 US study, general population of students experience a 22% rate of being bullied, while students with disabilities experiencing a 24 -34% range and NF children reporting a 62% rate.) More info here.
Besides lifetime medical treatment, mental health care is beneficial. Whole families are psychologically impacted by NF, with different degrees of ongoing stresses for the parents and siblings.
People with visible facial neurofibromas are subject to negative reactions and social isolation; people may mistakenly believe that the tumors are contagious. Persons with NF report higher incidences of depression, anxiety, perceived stress and lower levels of self-esteem compared with the general population. Click here for more information on NF.
P.P.S. Elephant Man (1980) is an excellent movie about Joseph Merrick, a man in Victorian England who was thought to have NF. More recent scholarship indicates that he probably suffered from Proteus syndrome.
Mask (1985) is another well-done film that is based on Rocky Dennis, an adolescent with cranial/facial disfigurement due to craniodiaphyseal dysplasia aka lionitis.
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