Sebastian Stan plays only one man in Aaron Simberg’s wonderfully twisted production another manBut he’s essentially two different characters before and after the medical miracle.
Previously, we met Edward, a struggling but determined actor living in New York City, clearly overacting in a scene from a low-budget project. Edward also has neurofibromatosis, which causes growths and tumors to appear all over his face.
Edward is extremely self-confident about his appearance and confines himself to a dark and fairly spacious apartment. The leak from the ceiling allows him to fester and swell into a disgusting exudate, serving as Simberg’s candid visual motif for the malaise that consumes Edward. Umberto Smerilli’s terrifying score translates his fears into music.
Then a new neighbor intrudes into Edward’s life and gives him a chance to step out of his growing loneliness. Renate Reinsve (worst person in the world) Ingrid, an aspiring playwright, moves in next door.
He is unusually positive and charmingly talkative. Annie Hall (obliquely referenced), she is a realistic fairy dream girl, expressed by Reinsve with true notes of confidence and intelligence. Ingrid does not ignore the differences in Edward’s face and acts without worrying about his condition. In fact, to Edward, she seems able to see beyond the surface to the point that many strangers would be wary of. She just looks at him.
The brief moment of physical contact in his apartment, well played by Stan and Reinsve, is both awkward and charming. It’s only a matter of time before Edward signs up for the first trial of an experimental drug to treat a potentially life-altering disease and transform his body into painful changes.
After the horror and the scene where Edward peels off his old face in excruciating pain, he emerges as a new man (Stan, do not have Prosthetic limb), names himself Guy. He immediately reaps the benefits of looking like a Marvel superhero.
The film spends the first third effectively setting up a cruel cosmic joke on Edward before delivering the punchline at the end. His name is Oswald. Out of nowhere he barges into Guy’s happy and prosperous new life and disrupts everything.
Oswald, played by actor and disability activist Adam Pearson, who actually has neurofibromatosis, looks a lot like Edward/Guy before the surgery. However, despite living with a similar deformity, he has a completely different nature.
Oswald is a cheerful, sociable, and unyielding force of positivity who proves in every way that Edward’s appearance is not holding him back. Maybe Edward was just a loser. And conversely, just because Guy is traditionally good-looking doesn’t guarantee that he’ll always get what he wants right now. He may end up being a loser too.
Once it’s clear what the gag is, it’s fun to watch Simberg play it out to its extreme conclusion with the help of Pearson, who starred in the filmmaker’s previous film. Chained for life.
Sarcastically funny as the jovial Oswald, he almost steals the show by blithely telling Guy’s unwitting nemesis that he’s better at everything and rocking an eccentric outfit of flashy prints and neckerchiefs. He’s Stan’s perfect, unflinching foil, deftly carrying the film’s rapid changes from deadpan wit to heartfelt drama to monster-movie gore.
And, as a further measure of sharp humor, Pearson’s performance draws attention to the fact that the film did not cast an actor with neurofibromatosis to play Edward, but instead cast a beautiful actor and put a mask on him. I am collecting. The twist is also a point raised about the casting of Ingrid’s play, which was inspired by Edward’s sweet, earnest desire to be someone else.
Another person (★★★★☆) ‘ is rated R and is showing in theaters nationwide. visit www.fandango.com.
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Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
