Sebastian Stan got some headlines earlier this summer when it was revealed that distributors are wary of buying the Trump movie he stars in with Jeremy Strong. But he has another movie this year, which premiered first at Sundance to some of the best reviews of his career. It’s called A Different Man, and it stars Stan, Renate Reinsve, and Adam Pearson (best known for appearing in Under the Skin). The trailer for A Different Man dropped yesterday, and it looks like a mindf-ck.
Stan stars as Edward, a man with neurofibromatosis who is “healed” and revealed to look like Sebastian Stan. Adam Pearson, who has neurofibromatosis in real life, stars as Oswald, an actor playing Edward in a play about his life. Renate Reinsve is, as far as the trailer reveals, The Girl (justice for Renate, maybe). Obviously, with a tricksy plot about identity they’re not looking to give everything away, but it looks like Edward is being haunted by Oswald in some respect, perhaps because Oswald seems happier than Edward does. There’s a lot of paranoia and unhappiness in this trailer, in general.
Once again, a late September release date isn’t a confidence builder, but like Lee, A Different Man is a film that has already had its world premiere, and so it won’t be making rounds at the fall festivals. October, November, and December are already staked out with films that will premiere during the Venice/Telluride/TIFF triad, so September becomes the place for the films that premiered at earlier fests—except if you really thought your film had a chance at a trophy, you would position it to maximize that possibility. Still, September aside, A Different Man looks weird and cool, and it’s always good to see Sebastian Stan outside of Marvel (he’s especially good at playing dickheads, which Edward sort of looks to be). And it’s good to see Adam Pearson, he left a strong impression on Under the Skin. And hey, at least we know this movie will get released this year for sure!
