To start off, I think I would have enjoyed this movie a bit more if I knew nothing about it and without watching the trailer mainly because an element of surprise was gone with it. This said a Different Man was the 2nd movie I watched this year after Heretic. I had probably a bit too high expectations on this one both because it's another A24 movie which almost always are good and original and because of the way it was pitched to my by a friend which sounded like a movie which I potentially could really like. It didn't fully turn out that way as I wasn't fully sold on everything and the 2nd Part of the movie was a bit weaker. However, I did learn something from this one.
A Different Man (6.9/10)
Movie Plot: The way it was pitched to me is that it is a movie about a man with a condition why he's ugly which affects his self-esteem. He undergoes a experimental treatment that gets him fully cured looking normal thinking it would solve all his problems. Soon after he meets someone with the same condition who despite it is very self-confident showing that looks alone isn't solving everything.
While this premise to me has everything to be a great movie, I however didn't find that he was that extremely low in self-esteem and the moment he got a normal face he went out and immediately was making out with a girl and more that night which just felt totally unrealistic to me. I did like the 2nd actor with the disease (Adam Pearson) who apparently really has it while the first time he appeared in the movie I thought 'That's Some Bad Overt The Top CGI'I found a big part of the movie to be just a bit too 'artsy' with the neighbor and the play she was writing which is a world that I less relate to. I also wasn't paying enough attention at times as there apparently was a time gap somewhere after the main character changed. The movie for me also was just a bit too long dragging on in the 2nd part.
Overall I'm glad that I watched it as I was too curious after hearing the plot even though I probably would not recommend it to myself at this point. The main thing I learned is that this proteus syndrome actually exists (It's the same as in the famous Elephant Man movie (which I have never watched). Based on everything I still give it a respectable 6.9/10 just under the level where I can say I liked the movie.
# | 2025 Watched Movies | Score |
---|---|---|
#01 | Heretic | 7.8/10 |
#02 | A Different Man | 6.9/10 |