Tom Hanks in a still from ‘A Man Called Otto’
| Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
O-T-T-O (Tom Hanks) would like you to believe that he’s a 21st-century Scrooge. A stickler for rules, he scoffs at neighbours who do not sort their garbage and keeps their pets at arm’s length. Like the machines he dearly loves, Otto is mechanical with his routine and is cautious with his emotions.
David Magee’s adaptation of Fredrick Backman’s bestseller A Man Called Ove is a fable of a 63-year-old widower wrestling with grief after losing his wife to cancer.
Otto strives to insulate himself from the people around him and plots to die by suicide until his new neighbours move in and play spoilsport. Marisol (Mariana Treviño), an immigrant mother of two adorable daughters and a wife to Tommy (Manuel Garcia Rulfo), an IT guy, looks at life as a glass half-full. On their first day in the new house, she brings a box of pollo con mole (chicken in mole sauce) to Otto because she thought he looked like a “hungry man.” She forces him into situations that need him to extend empathy and love — from asking him to become her driving instructor to turning him into a babysitter at her convenience — and her spirit cracks Otto’s hard exterior.
A Man Called Otto (English)
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Runtime: 126 minutes
Storyline: Otto, a 63-year-old widower, lives his life wallowing in grief and scoffing at neighbours who don’t sort their garbage. He insulates himself from the people and plots to die by suicide until new neighbours move in and their spirit begins to crack Otto’s hard exterior
Director Marc Forster does not treat the old man with kid gloves; he lets him enrage and amuse the audience and thereby drives us closer to understanding an old man trying to salvage the meaning of life. The creators of the movie want us to leave our pessimism at the door and embrace the old grumpy man in ourselves.
Tom Hanks, an actor with over 95 acting credits and two Academy Awards to his name — and one who has been nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards that honour the “worst of cinematic failures” for his performances in Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic Elvis and the live-action Disney remake of Pinocchio — struggles free with his performance as Otto; making us believe that this is just the beginning of his redemption arc. Mariana Treviño also successfully establishes her presence on the screen with her effervescent portrayal of Marisol. Supporting actors like Manuel Garcia-Ruflo, Rachel Keller, Cameron Britton, and Juanita Jennings successfully bring a community to life.
The 126-minute-long movie highlights the importance of community and a shared sense of belonging that forces Otto to continue living. Watching Otto grapple with moments of hopelessness and self-doubt that weigh heavily on his conscience will most definitely tug at your heartstrings. However, all the tears are worth it. All in all, the movie feels like a warm hug from a dear friend.
A Man Called Otto is currently running in theatres.
