A surreal journey through jealousy, inadequacy and shallowness. Well acted, with fitting soundtrack and mood.

While the acting performances are overall excellent and the fact that the story does have potential, this movie somehow does not really work. I guess it is mainly because as soon as the Sebastian Stan character comes in, he and most other characters just do not behave rationally, naturally and realistically. Even if a heavily physically deformed person is super self-confident in public, it is just nor realistic to make all people around him ignore him. In reality, most people would regularly or permanently stare at him. Many would make remarks to the person or to others, if only just to mask their uneasiness with the presence of the deformed person. Also, the general behaviour and priorities of the Sebastian Stan character are just not believable. Sorry, I can accept the magical transformation, as it is the heart of the story, but I cannot accept the completely irrational story that follows. The problem is the writing, not the acting. Just mediocre, which is a pity, given the potential.

A Different Man is a fictional story with roots in real-life experiences. While the characters and events aren’t based on actual people, the film explores universal themes, especially the social "difference" that people with visible disabilities or discrimination often face. Edward’s story follows a life-changing event that alters his sense of identity, allowing the film to examine issues of marginalization and representation in a unique, fictional context. I love how the overall setting of the movie is initially blurry when Edward is still Edward, but becomes clearer when he becomes Guy Moratz, reflecting Edward's own shifting vision and perspective. This is one of the things I love about A24 films.

When you look in the mirror, don't look for flaws in yourself, love yourself as you are. What the movie actually wants to tell you is not your appearance, but having people in your life who love you for who you are. They've handled that very well for your personality, but it's not a mediocre movie. It's an average production. It's neither very good nor very bad.

A Different Man has some intriguing ideas, but fails to portray them with relevant power. The actors were great, as was the story, but the writing felt rushed and incomplete. You're left wanting the film to be much better.