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A Different Man

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Edward (Sebastian Stan) is a facially disfigured man who leads a life of self-consciousness and awkward social encounters. His new neighbour Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) is an aspiring playwright, and for a moment it looks like he might have a chance at romance with her; alas, she rejects him. Soon after, Edward begins an experimental drug therapy that cures his affliction and allows him to assume a new identity. Years later, he discovers that Ingrid has written a play based on the two of them and decides to audition incognito. However, his bids at self-assurance are undermined by an extroverted stranger (Adam Pearson) who is exceedingly comfortable in his own skin.

Aaron Schimberg’s wicked satire dares to provoke responses as varied as anxiety, compassion, and amusement, often in combination rather than easy separation. Besides its finely calibrated plotting, evocative performances, and haunting imagery, A Different Man is distinguished by its resistance to easy classification: it embraces the ironies of comedy and the derangements of horror, but when all is said and done it stands defiantly alone.

 

Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance, Berlin 2024

 

Media Partner

Director
Cast

Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson

Credits
Country of Origin

USA

Year

2024

Language

English

Film Contact
18+

At Vancouver Playhouse

19+

At The Rio

112 min
Award Winners Comedy Drama Experimental & Avant Garde
A24, Grand Motel Films, Killer Films

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Sebastian Stan, Aaron Schimberg

Producer

Christine Vachon, Vanessa McDonnell, Gabriel Mayers

Screenwriter

Aaron Schimberg

Cinematography

Wyatt Garfield

Editor

Taylor Levy

Production Design

Anna Kathleen

Original Music

Umberto Smerilli

Aaron Schimberg headshot; A Different Man director

Aaron Schimberg

Aaron Schimberg lives in New York, USA. He made two commercially disastrous features, but the second one, Chained for Life (2018), was well-received by critics. A Different Man (2024) is his third film.

Filmography: Go Down Death (2013); Chained for Life (2018)

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