A DIFFERENT MAN

When we got our first snow two weeks ago, I spent the day watching movies. One of which was A Different Man. I love Sebastian Stan, and he has had quite the year with movies. Following his portrayal, eerily accurate of the Orange Orge, where he said he had many sleepless nights acting as the Dump...and now this movie. he nailed both beautifully. Have you seen this film yet? It was one of the darkest satires I've seen in some time. Sebastian Stan plays Edward, who has a troubled life, not only because of his deeply disfigured face, but also due to the way he carries himself. When he participates in an experimental drug trial that drastically changes his appearance, he finally starts to live the life he's always wanted, with his sexy body and handsome face, although the peeling face thing was a bit unnerving. This dream life quickly turns into a nightmare when a play his neighbor writes and produces, sparks Edward's desires to change and he becomes obsessed with trying to reclaim what he once was and lost.

From the very start of the movie, I knew that I was witnessing a totally unique artistic vision. Director Aaron Schimberg has a tight control of every frame, the high-quality production value of this film is undeniable. At the beginning of the movies, before Edward's transformation, feel very different than what follows. His life is riddled with anxiety, and the audience feels every bit of it. You also feel the discomfort that Edward has because he looks different. Which I might add, Stans make up is some of the best that will come all year I suspect. I actually questioned the make-up, if there were two different actors playing Edward in the beginning of the film. Sebastian Stan gives a performance I was unaware he was capable of, especially on a physical level. And the scenes with Peason are gold.

The supporting cast were excellent too. Reante Reinve and Adam Pearson who is a British actor, presenter and campaigner, who has neurofibromatosis in real life, are also very good in this. Pearson, who plays Oswald has the life that Edward wants and can't understand how Oswald is so outgoing and fears nothing, enjoys life to the fullest, even with the disfiguring disease, yet Edward, who is cured of his disfigurement, isn't happy, and still doesn't have the life he wants. And Reinsve feels like she is giving two different performances from where we first meet her and where her arc ends up. Ingrid is an incredibly flawed person whose morals are never known and Reinsve makes every scene she's in a fascinating watch. The scene where she tells Edwards to go put the disfigured mask on during sex was quite something. I don't want to give the whole plot away. And Pearson is incredibly charismatic and a pure scene stealer for sure. Overall, A Different Man is an original achievement that I absolutely adored. It is certainly not for everyone, what with some of the disturbing imagery, but I was always immensely entertained. And nothing wrong with catching a glimpse of a very naked and revealing Bucky Barnes!!!! 

I may have to watch again. My next movie I want to watch is the Substance. Adore Demi Moore.