Edward Lemuel is a socially awkward struggling actor withneurofibromatosis that manifests as a disfiguring facial condition. He befriends his new neighbor Ingrid Vold, an aspiringplaywright, but is too nervous to act on his romantic feelings towards her. He secretly undergoes an experimental medical treatment to cure him of his condition. Seeing that it has worked, he assumes the identity of "Guy Moratz" and claims that Edward has killed himself, instead of continuing to report to his doctors.
Some time later, "Guy" is now a wealthy and successfulreal estate agent. One day, he discovers that Ingrid is producingEdward, anoff-Broadway play that she has written based on his life. Using an old cast mask of his original face that was given to him by the doctors, he uses it to audition and is cast in the lead role after some initial questioning from Ingrid. Edward and Ingrid begin a sexual relationship soon thereafter, though Ingrid remains unaware of the truth of his identity. During rehearsals, they are visited by Oswald, a man also with neurofibromatosis who has taken an interest in the play. The confident and charismatic Oswald quickly befriends the cast and crew, although Edward is perturbed by his outgoing demeanor. One night, Ingrid asks Edward to wear the mask during sex; he hesitantly obliges until she abruptly laughs it off as "fucked up."
Ingrid and Oswald grow closer, and after Edward is unable to memorize his lines, she decides to recast Oswald in the lead role and make rewrites based on Oswald's feedback. The play is a success, and Oswald's performance receives rave reviews. Edward's mental state begins to deteriorate: he begins stalking Oswald, erratically starts acting like Oswald using the mask, and is fired from his real estate job. He eventually storms the stage of the play one night to physically attack Oswald. During the scuffle, part of the set falls on Edward, breaking his legs and arms. While he recovers from his injuries, he moves back into his former apartment next to Ingrid, who is now living with Oswald and making plans to adaptEdward into a film withMichael Shannon in the title role. One day, after Edward's physical therapist expresses disgust for Oswald, Edward stabs him and is jailed.
Years later, an aged Edward once again encounters Oswald. He has dinner with Oswald and Ingrid, who are planning their retirement to acommune in Canada. They reveal that theEdward film adaptation fell through and the two look back on the play with disdain. A waiter arrives to take their orders, but a visibly nervous Edward struggles to choose from the menu. Oswald jokes that "Edward" has not changed a bit.
A Different Man was announced in June 2022, with Aaron Schimberg set as writer and director.Sebastian Stan,Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson were also announced as the leads, withChristine Vachon, Gabriel Mayers and Vanessa McDonnell set as producers.[1]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 93% of 178 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Surreal and unsettling,A Different Man overcomes an occasionally tenuous narrative grasp by virtue of its bold, provocative approach to serious themes."[13]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[14]
FilmmakersKaryn Kusama,Greg Kwedar andLance Oppenheim all citedA Different Man as among their favorite films of 2024, with Kwedar saying "This movie works on you in so many ways. Its humor has a terrifying bite in that it holds a mirror to the pernicious ways that comparison is a plague on our self worth. The performances by Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve are stunning."[17]
In June 2025,IndieWire ranked the film at number 51 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[18]
^Vary, Peter Debruge, Murtada Elfadl, Todd Gilchrist, Gregg Goldstein, Paula Hendrickson, Courtney Howard, Angelique Jackson, Brent Simon, Adam B.; Debruge, Peter; Elfadl, Murtada; Gilchrist, Todd; Goldstein, Gregg; Hendrickson, Paula; Howard, Courtney; Jackson, Angelique; Simon, Brent (January 4, 2024)."Variety's 10 Directors to Watch for 2024: Blitz Bazawule, Cord Jefferson and Anna Kendrick Among Noteworthy Helmers".Variety.Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. RetrievedMarch 30, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"AWARDS: Our 2024 Winners".Greater WNY Film Critics Association. December 29, 2024.Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2025.
