A Different Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

A Different Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 18, 2025

Note: This is currently an A24 exclusive as of the writing of this review, and after having exhausted several lines of potential communication I am going public with a complaint about their online shop, which is completely unresponsive to emails or direct messages about shipping times and the like. Some may recall I actually named A24 as a studio to the Number 1 position on my annual Top 10 list several years ago, but I have been spectacularly unimpressed with the lack of interest in responding to a customer (especially one subscribing to their kind of spendy premium membership), and this has frankly shaded my overall opinion of their business model, or at least this particular nook and cranny of it.

November 1960 may be best remembered as the month and year when John F. Kennedy (supposedly?) won one of the most closely fought contests in presidential election history, but three days after that momentous event, one of the most iconic episodes of The Twilight Zone: Season 2 was initially broadcast on November 11 and instantly entered the pantheon of all time great Rod Serling creations. "The Eye of the Beholder" famously proffered a heavily bandaged woman who was attempting for an eleventh and (governmentally mandated) final time to undergo reconstructive surgery on her face to make her look "normal". Of course this being a Twilight Zone outing and probably most saliently one written by Serling himself, the "twist" ends up being that once the bandages finally come off, it is revealed that this surgery patient is actually what most folks would call beautiful (played by a dazzling young Donna Douglas a couple of years before The Beverly Hillbillies), and that all of the doctors and nurses attending her (whose faces have never been clearly disclosed) are what many would probably call grotesque monsters. That obviously gave a particularly Serling-esque spin on the aphorism underlying the episode's title, and in an at least somewhat similar way, A Different Man attempts to do the same, albeit with a liberal dose of "meta" content added.

While those averse to various bodily disfigurements would probably be well advised to opt out of seeing images on an internet search for neurofibromatosis, that genetic condition (actually evidently conditions in a completely accurate sense) underlies much of the tale told in A Different Man. As writer and director Aaron Schimberg overtly mentions in a supplement included on this disc, he is interested in presenting those with various physical disfigurements on screen, perhaps both to offer work for an obviously underutilized demographic in terms of feature film roles, but also perhaps to "normalize" perceptions of these people. Schimberg had his own physical disfigurement (a cleft palate) which may have played into his passion for this particular subject. And all of this is a really noble sentiment, which may then beg the question as to why Schimberg added all of the patently bizarre meta content on top of everything.

That meta element plays out in any number of ways, but at the outset at least the film seems to be revolving around a miraculous new surgical procedure that finally frees Edward Lemuel (Sebastian Stan) from the horrifying (if benign) tumors that have completely transformed his face into something arguably out of a horror movie. That said, even the introduction of Edward has a certain meta overlay since he's shown having some kind of attack in an office, which is then revealed to be part of him performing in a video for a PSA about workplace tolerance. In any case, the surgery is a success, allowing Edward to both literally and figuratively assume a new identity, which is where all of the "meta" information starts colliding, at times perhaps clashing with any attempt to really get to know Edward and what drives him. It turns out that an attractive neighbor of Edward's named Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), who knew him before his life altering surgery, has written a play about him, and Edward feels like he's obviously the perfect person to inhabit the lead role, although that now requires him to wear a prefabricated mask of his old "discarded" face. Edward and Ingrid explore a personal relationship as this all unfolds.

Even more meta content enters the fray with the arrival of a character named Oswald (Adam Pearson, an actor who actually has neurofibromatosis and who co-starred in Schimberg's previous Chained for Life). Either hilariously or disturbingly (at least for Edward), Ingrid starts having personal feelings for Oswald and then decides he's the better actor to portray "Edward" in her play, which then sets things off on several precipices of disaster. A Different Man kind of flirts with some of the ultra black comedy that can be part of, say, any given Coen Brothers enterprise, but it never totally "goes there", and is potentially undone by the very fact that Schimberg uses several actors with various kinds of disfigurements in supporting roles. Are we supposed to be laughing at them, too?

As such, A Different Man is undeniably provocative, but it never really delves that deeply into Edward's obviously troubled psyche (some of which may or may not have anything to do with his prior disfigurement). At any rate, the film at least offers some work for actors who probably see little to none, and it certainly should start some potent discussions about how people tend to react to those with such disfigurements.

A Different Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Different Man is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of A24 with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Schimberg mentions wanting to go for a "gritty New York" look for the film, and he has certainly achieved that with his deliberate choice of Super 16 (Kodak film was utilized). The result is appealingly organic, though the smaller format may admittedly not provide mind blowing fine detail levels in lower light situations and in some wider framings. That said, midrange to close-up shots have typically excellent detail levels on everything from the prosthetics Sebastian Stan wears as the "first" version of Edward (and even later when he puts on his mask), to more mundane items like textures on fabrics. There's a kind of "golden hour" color timing throughout this presentation irrespective of when and where certain scenes may be taking place. It sure looks to me like at least some of the brief interstitials of Edward doing the PSA may have been digitally captured (note the lack of grain and boosted clarity in screenshot 4 for an example).

A Different Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Different Man features a Dolby Atmos track that is perfectly immersive as a "traditional" surround track, but which understandably given the film's narrative and context really doesn't offer a ton of opportunities for showy effects. Instead, there's clear engagement of the side and rear channels throughout for both ambient environmental sounds and some extremely eclectic source cues, as well as a really nice score by Umberto Smirelli, which has been given some lustrous orchestrations (especially for strings) by a cohort of what look like Italian arrangers. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

A Different Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary with Writer-Director Aarn Schimberg & Stars Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson


• Featurettes

About Face: Making A Different Man (HD; 20:13) provides some insight into Schimberg's desires for the project.




A.D.M. B.T.S. (HD; 14:45) is a Super 8 short by "experimental filmmaker" John Klacsmann.

• Deleted Scenes (HD; 4:38)

This comes with A24's standardized exclusive packaging, with a slipbox enclosing a DigiPack. Art cards are inside the pocket on the left.

A Different Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aaron Schimberg is absolutely to be commended for using actors who otherwise might not see much work, but in that regard at least somewhat like Chained for Life, he might consider trying to stuff a bit less meta content into the proceedings. Performances are winning throughout, and when Schimberg really goes for the gusto in terms of the dark humor, A Different Man is kind of thrillingly provocative. Technical merits are solid and the supplements enjoyable. While I'd (maybe?) joke that those ordering this from the A24 shop had better not expect any response to a customer inquiry should one be submitted, A Different Man comes Recommended.