A Man Called Otto – Review
126 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by David Magee
Directed by Marc Forster
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below and check out Ryan’s review HERE, and if you’d like, you can listen or watch Mark talk about Otto and M3GAN. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around.
A heartwarming and funny story about love, loss, and life, A Man Called Otto shows that family can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places.
I’ll be honest: last year, Tom Hanks gave me two of my least favorite performances as Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis and Geppetto in Disney’s live-action Pinocchio.
Imagine my surprise when, after those two disappointing performances in 2022, Tom Hanks returns to form to start 2023.
A Man Called Otto, a remake of the Swedish film A Man Called Ove (based on the novel of the same name) is the story of Otto Anderson, recently widowed and resigned to joining his wife, without whom he feels he has no reason to live.
But Otto isn’t just your average, everyday depressed and suicidal old man; no, Otto is a meticulous man, one who carefully plans his exit from this plane of existence down to the most minute detail.
Whether he is calling to cut off his electricity, gas, or in the film’s most humorous scene, starts by purchasing five feet of rope and arguing about being charged for six feet, because the store sells by the yard, not the foot, Otto is a man dedicated to seeing things done right, whether it’s residents having their parking passes properly hung from their rear view mirrors or ensuring the recycling bins are properly sorted, Otto’s life revolves around routine and rules, and he has no time for idiots and incompetents.
Imagine his disappointment then, when the screw hook he purchased fails and his attempt to hang himself fails.
When renters arrive across the street from him, his plans are delayed briefly as he cannot bear to watch the husband try–badly–to parallel park the small moving trailer on the curb, and simply pulls the man out of the car and does it himself, on the first try, of course.
The remainder of the film sees Otto desperately trying to tie up the loose ends of his life, such as fixing someone’s radiators or taking care of a local cat… Otto simply cannot leave things undone…or done WRONG.
If this sounds like a comedy–and judging by the trailers that’s what Sony would like you to think–then you’d be wrong.
I mean, of course there are funny moments; life, in all its ups and downs and pains and joys is simply full of funny moments, but A Man Called Otto is a straight-up drama, and a damned fine one, at that.
This film hit me hard, from angles I hadn’t expected to be hit. The idea of being alone after decades of marriage is a daunting proposition, one most of us never consider because it is, in fact, so terrifying. The circumstances of Otto and his wife’s (Sonya) years together are slowly revealed, and we peel back the layers that expose how the young Otto of yesterday became the gruff Otto of today.
Though a rather simplistic story, it is an effective and heartrending one, which, as the film progresses, tells us more and more of what is going to happen to Otto now… if he will simply allow it to.
The strength of A Man Called Otto isn’t necessarily in its general story or specific script, but in the performances. This is an example of a film which can be elevated above what it might otherwise be. Hanks embodies Otto in a way he hasn’t really embodied a character since at least (in my mind, anyway) Sully, and Mexican actress Mariana Treviño positively shines as Marisol, the pregnant mother of two who moves in across the street, and whose innate sense of decency makes her see Otto in a way he seems incapable of seeing himself.
You may laugh while you watch A Man Called Otto, but you’ll probably cry more. I did.
A Man Called Otto hits theaters on Friday, January 6, and stars Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mack Bayda, Cameron Britton, Juanita Jennings, Peter Lawson Jones, Max Pavel, Kailey Hyman, Truman Hanks, and Rachel Keller.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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