Leading up to this week, Sebastian Stan seemed like a shoo-in to get nominated for his first Academy Award for A Different Man, as it was getting significant award buzz and critical reception. However, he was nominated for his other project last year, The Apprentice. Perhaps this was a result of the recent election or Sebastian Stan being excluded from Variety’s Actors on Actors because other actors didn’t want to talk about Trump, either way, A Different Man left the Academy Awards nominations receiving only a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. However, anyone who has seen the film knows the layered performance Sebastian Stan gave as Edward Adam Pearson as his well-meaning antagonist Oswald.
A Different Man, written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, centers Stan’s Edward, who is a struggling actor with neurofibromatosis who undergoes a painful experiment treatment that promises to cure him and give him a new face. His desire for this treatment is predicated by his insecurity about how others perceive him. This is exasperated by the only role he was able to book was in an instructional video that was about teaching people to treat people like him like people, which is dehumanizing in itself, and his inability to get close with his neighbour Ingrid (played by Renate Reinsve). So, when the surgery is a success, he kills Edward and takes on the identity of Guy believing that everything will work now.
He finds success in work, getting his face on the billboards and cardboard cutouts, and having casual relationships with women in his new, cold apartment. It’s everything he wanted, except that while playing the role of Guy, he is still not living his dream of acting, and then he discovers that Ingrid lived up to her promise and wrote a play with a role for him. Well, for Edward. Guy eventually convinces her to hire him to play Edward (wearing a mask) as she can’t find anyone else who fills her vision of Edward that came in – but then in walks Oswald, who has neurofibromatosis like Edward had before his surgery.
What makes Oswald a great antagonist is you can read his character in two ways. The first is genuine, that he genuinely likes Guy and his acting and is just hanging around because he’s excited and invited. The other, is that he is manipulating the situation from the start to push Guy out. Regardless of your read of the character his presence and confidence in life drive Guy insane because Oswald is getting all the attention, love, and opportunities Edward/Guy felt he couldn’t achieve without the surgery and now is losing again despite his transformation.
What’s interesting about the film is that the characters are all messy. It leans into the concept that the grass is always greener on the other side; Edward sees Oswald living the life he only dreamed of before his surgery and getting everything he wanted, including Ingrid’s love. But you can’t discount the events that transpired to lead to this, going back to before Edward chose to “kill” Edward and become Guy. Ingrid pulled away and fled Edward’s apartment when he grabbed her hand, the closest he got to showing his affection was more than friendly. She was not present during his painful transformation. It was perhaps only because of his “death” that she was driven to revise their relationship in the play. Paving the way for Oswald, who greets the world with confidence to let her tread those paths not traveled, and he has the confidence to pursue.
The film’s message is clearly about self-acceptance. Edward’s transformation was only skin-deep; Oswald embraced who he was, while Edward never found comfort in his skin.
A Different Man is available on Max in the US and Digital Rental in Canada.
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