A Different man tells the story of Edward, a shy elephant man who wants to work as an actor but only manages to get small roles because of his physique. One day, a new neighbor moves into the apartment next door and they create an interesting relationship that makes Edward's insecurities grow until he starts a treatment that will make him have a “normal physique” again. After doing that, his neighbor, Ingrid, plans to make a play of Edward's life, and from there the film becomes a kind of Synecdoche New York but without so much complexity, seeking more to make a criticism and a black comedy than an exploration of the character and his psyche, which, however, manages to do also in an excellent way.

I don't really like to say this in a review, but A Different Man is a smart movie. If you've already seen The Substance, I'm honestly very glad because it's a great movie, but you can understand how the message of loving yourself gets nailed in your face in an overly obvious way, which isn't a bad thing, but it's easier than doing it subtly and without it being the common thread of an entire story, which it does manage to do to A Different Man, which has one of the best scripts I've seen this year, and which is so well understood that, when you read that the director and writer also has a disease that affects his physique, you understand perfectly why the film is made the way it is, with an idea that goes to the point like an arrow and an execution that hits the mark to make this one of the best films of the year.

Still, beyond how well directed it is, I have to speak for the performances, which are dominated by an unstoppable Sebastian Stan, who this year has released another interesting film, and an Adam Pearson who has such an incredible charisma that you believe the whole role from the first minute he appears on screen. Sebastian, for his part, does one of the things I love about an actor and that is to change body language as the film and his character progresses, while Pearson is shown from the first moment charismatic and kind with an interesting humor, resulting in a duo that you can tell he enjoyed making this film that, as I said, is not lost anywhere.

Acabo de ver una película que escaló en mí de una forma muy interesante. Una película que realmente no pensé que sería tan buena como lo es, o por lo menos, como yo siento que es, una que funciona tan bien y hace todo de una forma tan suave y sin rodeos que se siente inteligente viéndola desde casi todos los ángulos posibles. Acabo de ver a different man, y es sin duda una de las sorpresas de este año que nos trae A24, siendo una especie de película de Lynch, junto con la sustancia y una historia kafkaniana que no te puedes perder si te gustan todas estas referencias.