[Movie Review] A Different Man: A good film that teaches the importance of adapting to change, even if I wanted to quip that it wasn't the 'face' he threw away

A24, the studio that keeps making calculatedly 'clever' films

To me, A24 is a studio that keeps making films that feel 'calculated' or 'clever'.
But I don't dislike that 'cleverness'.
The original title is 'A Different Man,' so the protagonist Edward (Sebastian Stan) didn't actually 'throw away his face.' I don't like this Japanese title because it risks giving the audience unnecessary preconceptions.
That said, I wonder if there was a better Japanese title... I can understand the argument that there wasn't, but still...

A work that could be called a 'self-transformation' story

I'm not sure if such a genre actually exists, but this is something that could be called a 'self-transformation' story. It's a work that depicts a situation where one's appearance or similar traits have changed drastically.
Cronenberg's 'The Fly' is exactly that. A more recent example would be 'The Substance'.
For those interested in 'The Substance,' I highly recommend reading this.

'The Substance' is an extreme film in many ways, but this film, 'A Different Man,' tackles 'self-transformation' head-on using straightforward cinematic techniques.
Edward (Sebastian Stan), an aspiring actor, has a face that is severely deformed due to a condition. Although he pines for Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), an aspiring playwright who moves into the apartment next door, he ends up brooding alone after seeing her boyfriend enter her room... he is a typical 'introvert'.
Meanwhile, a doctor recommends a groundbreaking treatment, and when he follows instructions and undergoes it, his deformed face transforms into that of a very ordinary, handsome man.
Will happiness visit him now that he has become a handsome man?

Changing one's 'name' is the ultimate self-negation

When a repairman comes to fix his room, Edward impulsively lies and says he is not 'Edward,' but a different person named 'Guy'.
In short, what he threw away was not his 'face,' but his 'name,' Edward. He effectively murdered the person known as 'Edward' at that very moment.
We are all connected to others and to society through our 'names.' And the 'self' is merely a transient phenomenon that arises within those connections and networks with others and society, and we use a 'name' to fixate that phenomenon.
A 'self' fixated by a 'name' will see its network with others and society vanish if the 'name' is discarded. Consequently, the 'self' itself also vanishes.
In other words, changing one's 'name,' which functions as a bond with others and society, is a negation of oneself.
By becoming 'Guy' instead of 'Edward,' he is forced to build a completely different network with others and society than before. And the moment that network is completed, he encounters a play titled 'Edward,' written and directed by his former neighbor Ingrid, which was built using his old self as material. He has encountered the 'Edward' he once discarded in a most unfortunate way.
The late 'Edward' is chasing after the new 'Guy'.
Because of this, his ego, which had been fixated as 'Guy,' begins to waver.

Why did he change his name?

A name is attached purely for convenience to fixate the fragile 'self' that emerges as a result of constant networking with the outside world. Because the name is fixed, it can be proven that both mental and physical changes are occurring within the same individual.
However, Edward likely could not accept such a sudden change in his face as 'Edward.' That is why he impulsively muttered the new name, 'Guy'.
Since he could not accept the sudden change in his 'body,' he had no choice but to declare that he was not 'Edward.' Only by thinking of himself as a different person could he accept the radical transformation that had occurred to his own body.
But what if?
If he had considered that the self is always fragile and constantly changing within networks with others and society, as well as through his own biological metabolism, perhaps he could have accepted the radical physical transformation. Couldn't he have just told the repairman, 'I'm Edward, but I had treatment and my face changed'?
However, he did not do that. At that moment, he murdered 'Edward' and chose to live as 'Guy.' Along with the transformation of his body, he changed his name as well.
If he were truly going to start a new life as 'Guy,' he should have had no need to take an interest in an off-Broadway play about 'Edward.' If he had done that, he could have lived as a reasonably successful real estate salesman, despite harboring some dissatisfaction.
But he faces his past self, 'Edward,' once again.

Adapting to change

Ultimately, if one were to extract a lesson from this film, it is that whether the body changes or the name changes, one has no choice but to adapt to both.
Looking at social media and the like recently, I feel there is a tendency for people to be too rigid in their self-definition. Phrases like 'I'm just that kind of person' or 'I can't do that' seem to come up often, but that sounds like a declaration that 'I will not change'.
When you think about it, even the cells in the human body are replaced daily, so we exist in the midst of constant change, both physically and mentally.
I think that adapting to those changes is the greatest duty imposed upon us.
This film teaches us that vividly.
The self is not something fixed; it is changing its appearance moment by moment.
We should chew on the weight of the original title, 'A Different Man'.