A Man Called Otto

UK Release Date. 6 January 2023
Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 6 mins
Director. Marc Forster
Cast. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Tom Hanks, Rachel Keller, Mariana Treviño.
Rating. 77%

Review.

A Man Called Otto stars an uncharacteristically abrasive Tom Hanks as the titular Otto Anderson, an embittered widower who - once forced into retirement - decides to commit suicide in order to reunite with his wife. This might sound like a shockingly dark premise for one of America's most beloved actors, but it is nowhere near as dark as the book it is based on. 

Fredrik Bachman's, best-selling novel, A man called Ove has already been adapted for the big screen; Swedish director Hannes Holm's A Man Called Ove was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year at the 2017 Academy Awards.

One of the main criticisms levelled at Marc Forster's film is the softening of the storyline from the original source material. Gone are many of Ove's tragedies, in particular, the hard childhood, the crushing death of his father and the loss of the family home. These formative events provide some degree of explanation why Otto is such a sour and cantankerous curmudgeon. Without this depth, Otto's inevitable character arc is decidedly shallow. 

Nonetheless Forster, by and large, manages to successfully balance the difficult disparate tones. After all, this is a comedy-drama about a man who desperately wants to die. Some of this is undoubtedly due to the source material and the screenplay reimagined by David Magee, but you do have to give credit to the easy manner of the performances of Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño and Rachel Keller in particular. Whereas, Truman Hanks - Tom Hanks' son - struggles as the young Otto. Luckily, he's playing a character that is obviously socially awkward, but even with these limitations, his on-screen presence is far from engaging. This is especially true when paired with the enchanting Rachel Keller (Sonya Anderson), who with limited screen time, is instantly memorable.

At the time of release, A Man Called Otto received mixed reviews, but I feel the main problem may have been one of marketing and people's expectations, rather than a criticism of content. A Man Called Otto seems to not aspire to be much more than a vehicle for Tom Hanks to move from grumpy, to, well, nice. For some in the audience, Hanks, in the lead role, cannot escape his virtuous career-spanning persona to portray a believable grumpy old man. This is laziness. Perhaps worse still... it lacks imagination. Tom Hanks is an actor. He has played unlikeable characters before, in The Bonfire Of The Vanities, Road To Perdition, The Circle and Elvis. As have other similar wholesome actors, the likes of James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Robin Williams and Tom Cruise.

A Man Called Otto is a film about community, and how important it is to connect, but in a surprisingly sensitive manner, Forster also examines mental health issues like loneliness, loss and depression. Yes, the film may tread well-worn ground and could be perceived as formulaic, but I defy anyone not to be moved by the charming, heart-warming and life-affirming story of a man called Otto. O-t-t-o.