Actors metaphorically put on a different face when working, but “A Different Man” takes that metaphor literally.

Sebastian Stan plays Edward, a man with neurofibromatosis type one, a rare genetic condition that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow on nerve tissue, who strives to be a great actor one day but struggles due to his condition.

After taking an experimental drug that cures him of his condition, Edward “reinvents” himself as Guy where he becomes a successful real estate agent but still yearns for an acting gig.

When Guy sees a play listing for Edward, he tries out but runs into Oswald (Adam Pearson), another actor trying out for the role that sets him on a tense collision course with his fellow actor.

The film’s plot on its own is rather compelling as Stan’s incredibly impressive acting throughout the entire film with Pearson’s genuine emotions further the tension that arises between the two.

This is furthered by the film’s cinematography as the camera tends to stay in the room with characters, rarely changing angles.

The camera also constantly is zooming in and out on characters’ faces to increase the drama and add flair and personality to the film.

However, the plot is quite difficult to follow due to the film’s editing.

Every time the camera cuts and scenes change, there isn’t any smooth transition but rather a hard cut that genuinely makes me feel as if I’m being slapped across the face.

Making matters worse, multiple cuts in the film have time jumps hidden behind them, leading to scenes feeling disconnected and hard to follow.

The film’s ending also follows suit by ending on a hard cut to credits leaving me and my friends wishing for more and feeling unfulfilled by the ending.

The music present throughout the film utilizes a mixture of horrifying, transformative and uplifting motifs to show the progression of Edward as he slowly becomes Guy and overall sounds incredible if only it weren’t so loud.

More often than not, the sound was louder than the dialogue and played over hard cuts, leading me to feel disoriented for a majority of the film.

Something more cohesive in the film was the practical effects.

There were multiple scenes of Edward peeling his face away as the skin fell off to reveal his healed face underneath that are brutal to watch and truly gruesome to the point that his face felt tangible.

Something that wasn’t tangible, however, was the romance plot between Edward and Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) and later Ingrid and Oswald.

The romance between Edward and Ingrid got a lot of time and development in the first half of the film where I was invested in their story, but the sudden time cuts led to things feeling out of place.

That feeling didn’t get eased in the second half of the film either as she suddenly gets with Oswald after a hard cut and magically appears pregnant only a few scenes later, once again after a hard cut.

“A Different Man” isn’t a bad film by any means and is certainly worth the watch, but you may want to pop an Ibuprofen or two beforehand as you’ll likely leave with headache like I did.

Rating: 3.5/5

Luke Brewer can be reached at 581-2812 or at lsbrewer@eiu.edu.