A Man Called Otto review

A MAN CALLED OTTO: 

TOM HANKS SHINES IN THIS UNEVEN BUT EFFECTIVE COMEDY-DRAMA! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto

 

            Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Post) goes from awkward Geppetto to grouchy old man in A Man Called Otto, the new film from director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction, Quantum of Solace) and based on the 2012 novel A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. The film is an American retelling of A Man Called Ove, which had previously been adapted into a 2015 Swedish film of the same name. 

            I’m not familiar with the 2015 film nor the original book, so I’m going to this as a standalone movie and judge it on its own merits. So, if you’re looking for a review that describes how faithful it is to the source material, go somewhere else. 

            This movie kind of flew under my radar as I remembered it coming out, but either the release date was constantly pushed back, or I was too distracted by other films out at the time that I forgot about it until seeing a trailer for it on another movie recently. I love Tom Hanks as an actor, he’s given so many iconic performances throughout his career and is one of those actors where even when he’s in a movie that’s sh*t he’ll be one of the major highlights of it (His performances in Elvis and Pinocchio not withstanding!). 

            Which brings us to this movie that’s riding on the success of Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino and other dramas about cranky old men bonding with their new neighbors. I don’t know if the book or 2015 film are like that, but you can see how this version was influenced by those kinds of films. 

            So, how does A Man Called Otto stand out from the rest? It doesn’t, but it’s alright. 

            It doesn’t do much new with this kind of formula and feels like a by-the-numbers PG-13 Gran Torino remake, but the acting is solid (especially from Hanks) and there is enough in here to keep you emotionally invested. 

            The film follows Otto Anderson (Hanks), a grumpy widower whose only form of joy comes from criticizing and judging his neighbors for disobeying the rules. But when a young family moves in next door, Otto’s world is turned upside down as he starts forming an unexpected friendship with his new neighbors, most notably with the quick-witted pregnant wife and mother of two Marisol (Marina Treviño-Perfect Strangers, The House of Flowers, Narcos Mexico). 

            The film also stars Truman Hanks as Young Otto, Rachel Keller (Legion, Fargo (TV series), In the Shadow of the Moon) as Sonya, Manual-Garcia Rulfo (Cake, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, The Magnificent Seven (2016)) as Tommy, Cameron Britton (Mindhunter, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, The Umbrella Academy) as Jimmy, Peter Lawson Jones (Alex Cross) as Reuben, and Juanita Jennings (Runaway Jury, Vacancy 2: First Cut, Side Effects) as Anita. 

            Overall, A Man Called Otto is a familiar but decent comedy-drama with standout performances from Hanks and Treviño and plenty of moments that will tug at your heartstrings. What sort of brings the film down for me is the tonal inconsistency of the script because while the funny moments are genuinely hilarious and the drama is very poignant, when they’re put together they contradict each other during several scenes and the film as a whole feels a little disjointed because of that. 

            Despite its flaws, there is a lot to admire about this film starting with a very against-type performance from Tom Hanks. Hanks is usually known for playing incredibly kind and likable characters (As well as being an incredibly friendly man in person) so it’s refreshing to see him portray a bitter elderly man who’s sick of everyone’s sh*t and while some may draw comparisons to Clint Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski from Gran Torino, Eastwood’s character had elements of bigotry and racism whereas with Hanks in this movie, he hates just about everyone in his neighborhood but learns to be less grumpy over the course of the film. 

            Marina Treviño also shines in this movie despite not being familiar with her other work as Marisol. She is an excellent contradiction to Otto’s cold personality and is able to put up with it while also showing him a better world out there, I love the scenes whenever they’re interacting with one another whether it’s Otto teaching Marisol how to drive or him bonding with her and her family. 

            The film also has a lot of flashback sequences involving Young Otto and his deceased wife Sonya which will be very hit-or-miss depending on the viewer. I didn’t mind most of them personally, but there were some that felt unnecessary and broke the pace of the story at times.

            I wouldn’t call A Man Called Otto one of Marc Forster’s best directing efforts, but if you saw the trailer and thought it looked interesting or you’re just a fan of Tom Hanks then go ahead and check it out. I can’t promise a masterpiece, but I can guarantee a flawed but fascinating emotional journey on par with the titular character himself.