Sebastian Stan delivers his best performance yet in Aaron Schimberg’s surreal, layered tragicomedy, about an actor freed from a “deformed” face but trapped by his own character.
Living with neurofibromatosis and crippling insecurity, Edward jumps at a treatment that makes him conventionally attractive but cannot resist auditioning when his beloved neighbour writes a play about him. While reliving his former self, he struggles to connect and succeed as much as ever – especially when a charismatic man with his old condition appears and does just that. Written and directed by Schimberg (Chained for Life), the film creates a riveting Kafkaesque fantasy of fractured identity, shot through with fearless humour, brilliant plotting, and insight into how appearances and difference affect it. Stan stands out as the anxious lead, as does TV personality Adam Pearson as his rival.
