‘A Different Man’ Might Be Overthinking Things

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( movie review [A Different Man Might Be Overthinking Things]( Sebastian Stan is very good in this droll, distant drama about being unable to escape yourself, but it’s Adam Pearson who brings the film to life. Photo: A24 [Adam Pearson]( doesn’t show up until maybe two-thirds of the way through A Different Man, and while that’s by design, once he did, I really wished he’d been there from the start. Pearson, whose first acting role was as one of the men the Scarlett Johansson alien picks up in Under the Skin, has neurofibromatosis, the same genetic condition responsible for the facial deformity that the film’s protagonist, Edward (Sebastian Stan), has then is cured of. A Different Man, which was written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, is filled with internal rhymes, from the repeat appearance of the Toni Morrison novel The Bluest Eye to mentions of the dog Edward doesn’t actually own (though he does briefly acquire a cat). Pearson’s character, Oswald, is the most significant of these acts of thematic alliteration — an outgoing foil to the sullen Edward who looks a lot like Edward did before his treatment but who’s comfortable in his skin in a way that Edward has never been. But Pearson, as happy-go-lucky charmer, also brings a burst of much-needed vitality to this droll but overly thought-through film. He’s a living, breathing complication to the considerations of representation and authorship that Schimberg explores. But he’s also a full-fledged character shouldering his way into a work that can otherwise feel claustrophobic in its concerns, like listening to someone having an argument with themself. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • The Golden Bachelorette: [Everything’s Coming Up Joan]( • The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras: [Carageddon]( • Survivor: [Raggedy Andy]( • Agatha All Along: [The Witch Is Back (Episode One)](, [’The Road’ Less Traveled (Episode Two)]( • The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City: [Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds]( • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: [My Dinner With Adar]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Meet the Internet’s Scrappiest Home for Obscure Cinema Let’s go spelunking into “the cave of forgotten films.”]( By Gayle Sequeira [Mama Grizzlies Tear Into Lunch in oh, Honey In Jeana Scotti’s play, everyone’s got a son facing sexual-misconduct accusations, and the waitperson is taking notes.]( [All the Semi-Salacious Non-Scandals in The Third Gilmore Girl Did anyone think a memoir by Kelly Bishop would be anything but classy?]( By Bethy Squires [8 Relationships That’ll Get You Hooked on From Welcome to nightmare town, population: eldritch abominations, bickering marrieds, and a lot of ghosts.]( By Roxana Hadadi [The 25 Goopiest, Grodiest, Gnarliest Body Horror Movies, Ranked What if you couldn’t distance yourself from something horrific, because it’s impossible to escape your own flesh and blood.]( By Rory Doherty [Lorne Michaels Is Staying Put at SNL The show’s creator, who previously said he might leave the show after season 50, now wants to stay as long as he can.]( By Hershal Pandya [Zach Bryan Ding-Dong-Ditched the Swifties “Don’t drink and tweet. Don’t drink and tweet!!”]( By Jason P. Frank [Gypsy Casts Someone Other Than Audra McDonald Four months after teasing the Broadway revival.]( By Jason P. Frank [Why Was the Miami Vice Pilot So Good? When the pastel-soaked, cocaine-coated cop show aired 40 years ago, contemporary TV was born.]( By Matt Zoller Seitz [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 9-Down, Four Letters: Exam Elle Woods got a 179 on Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty, Everett [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a Lucy Liu movie with an animal in the title? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved