A Different Man
Biting satire about an actor with a disease that covers his face with tumors. Thanks to a new medical procedure, he gets a beautiful new face, but new packaging does not immediately mean new content.
Edward suffers from neurofibromatosis. In his career as an actor, he only gets as far as roles in corporate films on how to deal with colleagues with disabilities. In social life, he is reserved, afraid of attracting attention with his appearance. When he suddenly looks handsome after a radical surgical procedure, he thinks he can radically break away from his old self. He tells everyone that Edward committed suicide, calls himself Guy, relocates and takes a job as an estate agent. But then his old neighbour Ingrid – played by Renate Reinsve, the Norwegian lead actress from THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD – looks for an actor for the play she has written about old Edward’s life with his disability. Also appearing on stage is Oswald, a man who also has neurofibromatosis but does not suffer from it at all. It is very confronting for Edward/Guy; he has to ask himself what exactly defined and defines his identity: his looks or (lack of) self-esteem.
A DIFFERENT MAN is an intelligent and layered tragicomedy about essential questions such as: what makes us who we are and what does it mean to be a good person? Sebastian Stan was awarded the Silver Bear in Berlin for the best leading performance. (jc)