This is another one of a trend of “miracle drug movies” with unseemly side effects, although writer/director Aaron Schimberg doesn’t ground his dark comedy in either the realm of the realistic or the fantastical in enough doses to keep his audience completely on the hook. The resultant movie, A Different Man (C), is full of interesting ideas, but the characters’ intentions have to shape shift to bend to the whims of his thesis. Sebastian Stan plays an actor with a deformed face caused by neurofibromatosis, and when he is treated to a cure giving him the matinee idol looks he craves, he inexplicably auditions for a part in a play loosely based on his own life pre-surgery. Renate Reinsve is the non-judgmental woman in his life who becomes playwright about his life; and soon another deformed man played by Adam Pearson enters the scene and further complicates their lives. It’s the kind of off-kilter meta satire Charlie Kaufman could fully commit to; alas, here the rug keeps getting pulled out, and the second and third acts become more tedious and preposterous. All three primary actors are committed to their roles and turn in interesting performances, even when asked to bend to the will of an untenable story. The music by Umberto Smerilli is a lovely complement to the tone and a standout, along with the make-up work. Ultimately the film’s potential as high comedy, searing drama or even a happy medium remains largely unfulfilled.