A Different Man review: "Sebastian Stan is wonderful in this unmissable exploration of beauty, artistry, and identity"

GamesRadar+ Verdict

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy.

Writer/director Aaron Schimberg (2018’s Chained for Life) crafts one of the most original works you’re likely to see this year. A Different Man is in essence a meta-movie, one that cunningly examines issues surrounding beauty and artistic creation.Some distance removed from his MCU Bucky/Winter Soldier persona, Sebastian Stan plays Ed, a New Yorker who is living with neurofibromatosis. Yet when a doctor offers a miracle-drug treatment, Ed’s life changes overnight: his facial tumours simply fall away, leaving him unrecognisable to all those that know him.Instead of revealing he’s been cured, Ed decides to take on a new identity, recasting his life in a new image. Even his neighbour Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, from The Worst Person in the World), a budding playwright, has no idea that it’s the same old Ed. But this is just the start of Schimberg’s increasingly oddball venture, which mixes body horror with dark comedy, not least when Ingrid decides to turn Ed’s story into an off-Broadway drama.Stan, who bagged the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, has surely never been better. Meanwhile, there’s a terrifically assured turn fromUnder the Skin/Chained for Life’s Adam Pearson (who has neurofibromatosis in real life), as Oswald, who emerges as something of a rival to Ed. But the real star, arguably, is Schimberg’s script, which feels like the love child of David Cronenberg and Charlie Kaufman. Fiercely inventive and utterly strange, A Different Man really is something else.A Different Man is in US theaters now and is released in UK cinemas on October 4. You can keep up to date with all the other most excitingupcoming movieswith our guide through the link.

Writer/director Aaron Schimberg (2018’s Chained for Life) crafts one of the most original works you’re likely to see this year. A Different Man is in essence a meta-movie, one that cunningly examines issues surrounding beauty and artistic creation.

Some distance removed from his MCU Bucky/Winter Soldier persona, Sebastian Stan plays Ed, a New Yorker who is living with neurofibromatosis. Yet when a doctor offers a miracle-drug treatment, Ed’s life changes overnight: his facial tumours simply fall away, leaving him unrecognisable to all those that know him.

Instead of revealing he’s been cured, Ed decides to take on a new identity, recasting his life in a new image. Even his neighbour Ingrid (Renate Reinsve, from The Worst Person in the World), a budding playwright, has no idea that it’s the same old Ed. But this is just the start of Schimberg’s increasingly oddball venture, which mixes body horror with dark comedy, not least when Ingrid decides to turn Ed’s story into an off-Broadway drama.

Stan, who bagged the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, has surely never been better. Meanwhile, there’s a terrifically assured turn fromUnder the Skin/Chained for Life’s Adam Pearson (who has neurofibromatosis in real life), as Oswald, who emerges as something of a rival to Ed. But the real star, arguably, is Schimberg’s script, which feels like the love child of David Cronenberg and Charlie Kaufman. Fiercely inventive and utterly strange, A Different Man really is something else.

A Different Man is in US theaters now and is released in UK cinemas on October 4. You can keep up to date with all the other most excitingupcoming movieswith our guide through the link.

More about a different manA Different Man stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson talk their “funny and unpredictable” new comedy-thriller: “Everybody has a very different reaction"New trailer for MCU star’s next movie is part dark comedy, part obsessive psychological thriller

More about a different man

A Different Man stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson talk their “funny and unpredictable” new comedy-thriller: “Everybody has a very different reaction"New trailer for MCU star’s next movie is part dark comedy, part obsessive psychological thriller

A Different Man

A Different Man stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson talk their “funny and unpredictable” new comedy-thriller: “Everybody has a very different reaction”

A Different Man stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson talk their “funny and unpredictable” new comedy-thriller: “Everybody has a very different reaction”

Sebastian Stan in A Different Man

New trailer for MCU star’s next movie is part dark comedy, part obsessive psychological thriller

New trailer for MCU star’s next movie is part dark comedy, part obsessive psychological thriller

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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

Nemesis board game models and tokens laid out on a board

1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

1

Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

2

Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”

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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

4

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”

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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

Shadow brandishes a gun in Sonic The Hedgehog 3

1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

1

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”

2

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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

3

Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”

4

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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”

5

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1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”

Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor and Nicola Coughlan as Joy in Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World

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1

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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”

2

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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

3

Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”

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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”

4

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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

5

Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”

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