A Different Man review

While flying to San Diego, I watched “A Simple Man”, and here are my thoughts…

I would describe the movie as an artsy slice-of-life film. We follow this actor, Edward, who has a form of gigantism of the face, who is in a slump, until an experimental procedure is done that turns him into a pretty boy, and his life turns around, or so he thinks…

The most impressive thing about this movie is the acting: Sebastian Stan does some real capital A Acting. He can be sympathetic, neurotic, funny, someone to root for, full of destructive self-pity, and even dislikable; he really makes Edward feel like a real three-dimensional person. Between this and The Apprentice, he’s having a great acting career.

The guy who plays Oswald (Adam Pearson), has truckloads of charisma, likability, and talent.

There is a neighbor character named Ingrid (played by Renate Reinsve) who starts off the story one way, but we find out there is more to her as things progress. It’s a really subtle and layered performance that the actress does a fantastic job with. I hope to see more of her and Adam Pearson in the future.

The movie is littered with many little quirky characters who pop up randomly, mostly for one or two scenes, but they make the most of it. So it’s nice to see these actors who get a chance to shine.

The dialogue is interesting; one or two lines can feel a bit forced, but for the most part it’s very casual, funny, and realistic, and I like how a lot of the lines can have double meanings or play with our expectations.

Now this is an unconventional movie. It isn’t always realistic; side characters do weird and unexplained things for no real reason (mostly for this awkward humor, which it does a good job at), and the story goes to some meta and strange places.

The movie wears its influences on its sleeve; it is reminiscent of an artsy European director trying to make a Woody Allen movie mixed with the dark and strange humor of David Lynch.

Now this is a double-edged sword, because on the one hand it keeps me engaged because I don’t know where things are headed, and the film goes to some interesting places, and overall I appreciate the creativity. But artsy character pieces like this are hard to read; like I assume the movie is trying to say something about how people interact with each other and how we see ourselves, but it’s very much a “different people have different readings” type of film, which can be fun for discussions, but not always the most satisfying.

I guess my biggest critique is how they treat Edward. I don’t want to spoil anything, but he was a character I really rooted for, and I’m not fully sure what the filmmakers are saying about him.

A lot happens in the third act, one thing after another in a very fast succession, a little too much, and I wish the very end was stronger; it just sort of stops.

I give a high three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ it is unique, and you can tell how passionate everyone making it is.