Edward has always looked … different.
He’s used to it by now: the sneers on the subway, startled looks on the street and unkind comments from not-quite-hushed-enough voices.
“Sometimes these things happen,” Edward says with a shrug.
You see, Edward suffers from neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic condition that typically causes benign tumors in the nerves and skin. In Edward’s case, it’s given him significant facial deformities for most of his life.
As a result, Edward is shy. Withdrawn. He tries not to draw attention to himself. It’s a bit ironic, then, that he dreams of becoming an actor. But there’s not much acting work to be had for a guy like him. Oh sure, a gig or two has come along, but only for things that want to exploit his appearance—to emphasize his “ugliness” in some way.
Edward trudges along his life’s lonely path, unable to believe anyone could see past his deformity, to the person underneath.
Then he meets his new neighbor, Ingrid. She’s friendly. Kind. Beautiful. And she doesn’t seem all that bothered by Edward’s appearance—at least, not in the way most people are. He’s smitten, but his insecurities sabotage any potential for a deeper connection between the two. He longs to look “normal.”
So when a new and experimental medical drug becomes available, Edward joins the test group. “Perhaps the risk is worth the reward,” a doctor says. Edward seems to agree.
Nothing seems to happen at first. But slowly, the miracle drug works its pharmacological magic. His appearance starts to change. One morning, Edward wakes up with a new face. A normal face. Handsome, even.
It’s almost too good to be true—a second chance at life. Edward will finally be able to have everything he ever wanted.
Right?
When Edward first meets Ingrid, she is very kind to him—offering to patch him up after he injures himself. They strike up a friendship, and Ingrid constantly tries to draw the shy Edward out of his shell. When Edward learns Ingrid is a playwright, he gifts her with a vintage typewriter and encourages her efforts.
After Edward’s transformation, we are introduced to Oswald, who also has neurofibromatosis. Oswald is amiable, selfless and forgiving. While these traits are portrayed to such an extreme degree that they comically stretch credulity, there is no doubt he’s sincere. Oswald always treats Edward well, even when Edward doesn’t extend him the same courtesy.
The film wrestles with and presents some compelling points on the perception of physical beauty in society and storytelling.
Someone says, “Glory is not my ultimate destination.” A woman jokes that a rapidly healing cut is a miracle and calls herself a “St. Francis.” A couple says they plan to join a commune under the tutelage of a spiritual guru—which they admit “sounds like a cult.”
Many women find Edward’s newfound appearance attractive. He and a woman kiss passionately in a bar restroom, which leads to a sexual encounter there (in which we see the prolonged reaction on his face in the midst of it). Another woman zips up her dress in Edward’s apartment—the implication being that they had sex the night before.
Eventually, Edward and Ingrid start a relationship, though she doesn’t recognize him post-transformation (and he doesn’t tell her who he really is). They kiss deeply, and Ingrid says she “wants” Edward. The graphic sex scene that follows includes full-frontal male nudity, exposed breasts (and most of Ingrid’s unclothed body) and explicit movements. Moments later, Ingrid insists that Edward wear a mask to make him look like he has a facial deformity while they have intercourse.
Two people dance suggestively. A woman strokes a man’s chest. Someone’s bare backside is seen. A woman wears a revealing top without a bra. Others wear short skirts and form-fitting dresses. A man is seen a few times in his underwear. A woman references her “jilted lovers.” People talk about joining a nudist colony where there is “free love.”
A man hangs himself. We see his body being taken down by paramedics. Afterwards, Ingrid asks Edward if he would kill himself (she wants him to say “no”). When Edward changes the subject to her writing, Ingrid tells him that she’d rather talk about suicide than her writing.
The miracle drug that Edward takes causes the excess tissue on his face to melt away in bloody globs. He tells his doctor that his “face is falling off.” One grotesque scene shows Edward pulling chunks of flesh from his head. He wails in pain. Blood from this process stains his shirt.
After Edward’s transformation is complete, he lies and says that “Edward” has died by suicide, choosing to create a new persona for himself. (Unbeknownst to him, Ingrid overhears this and thinks he is really dead.)
Edward becomes obsessed with Oswald (more on that below) and attacks him. Men struggle on a stage and a piece of the set, and then a lighting rig, lands on one of them. A person gets stabbed with a large knife, staining his shirt with blood; he eventually succumbs to his wound.
As a result of injuries, a man is in a full-body caste. Someone cuts his hand with a kitchen knife and bleeds profusely. A chunk of the ceiling falls and hits someone in the head. Mention is made of past societies that leave deformed babies to die, exposed to the elements. A man gets struck by a basketball. A disturbed individual says that he wants someone (and his children) to die of cancer.
Edward tells Ingrid that his mother is dead. A song’s lyrics say, “Want to kill, want to maim.”
Nearly 20 f-words and a handful of s-words. Jesus’ name is abused four times, as is God’s name (twice paired with “d–n”). Also heard are “b—h,” “a–” and “a–hole,” “h—,” “bollocks,” “bloody,” and “crapper.”
Song lyrics include one use of the n-word.
Medications are discussed, including the unnamed experimental drug that changes Edward’s appearance. Tubes inject the drug (in liquid form) into Edward’s face. During the process, he’s given a different set of meds to “protect his kidneys.”
Recreational drugs are mentioned here, too. On a TV show, a character asks a man to get her drugs. Members of a commune are said to take LSD together.
Men and women drink champagne and whiskey. A bartender pours a drink for someone, sarcastically calling it “medicinal.” Ingrid tells Edward to make her something from her bar. People toast and drink over a meal. A man smokes a cigarette.
[Note: Spoilers are contained in this section.]
As mentioned above, Edward becomes obsessed with Oswald over the course of the film, which drives him to madness. This obsession begins when Oswald is cast to play a part in Ingrid’s new off-Broadway show—which she based off Edward’s life, pre-transformation. (Remember, she thinks Edward is dead.)
You can understand why Edward feels like he should have that role, that he was born to play it. It’s based on his life, after all. But Edward’s newfound good looks are getting in the way. He just doesn’t fit the part anymore.
So, Oswald gets the role of a lifetime. And Edward’s life begins to unravel.
Edward’s jealousy of Oswald grows beyond the show. Despite his condition, Oswald leads an idealized version of life. (As this is, in part, a comedy, the film revels in the absurd abundance of his talents and good fortune.) Oswald is magnetic, genuine, and comfortable in his own skin. Most of all, he is happy. Everything Edward is not, even after his physical transformation.
Ingrid unwittingly plays a part in Edward’s crumbling psyche as well. In creating a play based on Edward’s life, she blurs the lines between honoring someone’s experiences and creative exploitation. For instance, she refers to “Edward,” the character in her play, as her creation. She makes assumptions about “Edward,” the character, that drives Edward, the real person, crazy. (Again, she mistakenly believes Edward is dead since he’s maintained a false identity since his transformation).
As Edward’s discontent grows, Ingrid ends their relationship and takes up with Oswald. This enrages Edward and he continues to make choices that cause his life to spiral further out of control.
People make cruel or careless comments to Edward. A makeup artist says the application of deforming makeup “must be dehumanizing” to the now handsome Edward. A man calls another person “ugly.” Someone assumes that a deformed man must be rich, because he has an attractive girlfriend.
Someone says, “All unhappiness in life comes from not accepting who you are.” In the throes of his medical treatment, Edward vomits. A person says he’s “got to take a leak.” Someone goes to prison. Advertisements are vandalized.
References are made to Beauty and the Beast, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Bluest Eye, stories that each deal with physical insecurities.
Can a person live two lives?
In A Different Man, Edward gets about as close to doing so as one can. But something happens that he does not expect: Turns out he’s not satisfied with either life.
It’s an interesting twist. The film turns a spotlight on its own protagonist, causing us to wonder if Edward’s physical deformities were really the issue all along, whether his self-image problems were more than skin deep. This is most certainly a “be careful what you wish for” kind of story with some humor and a compelling message.
But, like Edward, I, too, was unsatisfied. Because even though A Different Man has interesting ideas and some profound things to say about perceptions and associations of beauty in our culture, an abundance of explicit content—including graphic nudity, harsh language and bursts of bloody violence—is equally present.
Ultimately, that extreme content makes this dark dramedy a face I’d rather forget.
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
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