A Man Called Otto (2022) Columbia/Comedy-Drama RT: 126 minutes Rated PG-13 (mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, language) Director: Marc Forster Screenplay: David Magee Music: Thomas Newman Cinematography: Matthias Koenigswieser Release date: December 30, 2022 (US, limited)/January 6, 2023 (US, wide) Cast: Tom Hanks, Mariana Trevino, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks, Rachel Keller, Christiana Montoya, Alessandra Perez, Cameron Britton, Juanita Jennings, Peter Lawson Jones, Mack Bayda, Max Pavel, Kailey Hyman. Mike Birbiglia, Kelly Lamor Wilson.
Rating: *** ½
I typically dread Americanized remakes of foreign films. More oft than not, they don’t do the originals justice. For every Departed success story, there are several failures like Diabolique and The Vanishing. Don’t even get me started on all the awful remakes of French comedies.
When I saw the excellent Swedish dramedy A Man Called Ove several years ago, I had a feeling there would eventually be an American remake. I remember thinking it could work if done right. That would mean finding the right actor to play the titular character, a grouchy old bastard transformed by the power of neighborly love. Jack Nicholson played a similar role in 1997’s As Good as It Gets, but I couldn’t see him doing it again (especially now that he’s retired). I honestly didn’t know who Hollywood could get to fill the shoes of Rolf Lassgard from the original. When I heard Tom Hanks had been cast in the role, I had mixed feelings. He’s a great actor, but can he actually pull it off? He’s a nice guy who plays nice guy roles. He’s a modern Jimmy Stewart. Can he play a convincing curmudgeon? As it turns out, YES!!!
Now named Otto, Hanks’ character just wants to be left alone to wallow in his grief. His beloved wife Sonya died six months earlier and he plans to join her ASAP. In the meantime, he spends his days visiting his wife’s grave and patrolling the gated Pittsburgh community where he’s lived for more than 40 years. This guy is a stickler for the rules. He makes sure all the residents’ parking permits are in the right place, the recycling is in the right containers and the gate is always closed. Also, he’s at constant war with a persistent real estate jerk (Birbiglia, Sleepwalk with Me) trying to buy up everybody’s property to make way for new condos.
Otto is unable to exchange so much as a single kind word with his neighbors. Usually, he just snaps and snarls at them. What difference does it make? He doesn’t plan on being around much longer. Everything changes one fateful day when his attempt at hanging himself is interrupted by the arrival of new neighbors. The man Tommy (Rulfo, The Magnificent Seven) is having a hard time parking; the U-Haul trailer keeps ending up on Otto’s front lawn. A man of no patience, an annoyed Otto runs outside, takes over and shows Tommy how it’s done. By way of showing her gratitude, Tommy’s very pregnant wife Marisol (Trevino, Club de Cuervos) brings him food then calls him out for being unfriendly when he shuts the door in her face. This, of course, is the start of a friendship, a begrudging one on Otto’s part.
Slowly, Otto starts to let his guard down. He becomes close to the new neighbors and their two young daughters who get a real kick out of their “Abuelo Otto”. He takes in transgender teen Malcolm (Bayda) after his dad kicks him out. He starts to make amends with former best friend Reuben (Jones, White Boy Rick), a recent stroke victim being looked after by his wife Anita (Jennings, Runaway Jury). In short, the old grump becomes a mensch.
There’s a bit more to A Man Called Otto like the flashbacks to happier times like when young Otto (played by Hanks’ son Truman) first meets Sonya (Keller, Legion) on a train. Their love grows and they decide to start a family only to be halted by the horrible tragedy that led to him hating the world and everybody in it.
Hanks is a reliable actor. Although he’s made his share of bad movies (like the one with the volcano), he’s consistent is turning in good (mostly great) performances. I don’t recall him ever playing an unlikable character and that still holds true with A Man Called Otto. Some will look at Otto and see a cantankerous old crank and he is, but only on the outside. Not letting anybody get close is his way of coping with loss. Deep down, he’s a good and decent person with a big heart (and not just figuratively). Hanks, in yet another knock-out performance, allows us to see clearly his character’s humanity. This is exactly what Jimmy Stewart would have done.
Trevino, as new neighbor Marisol, is a regular scene stealer. She shines in every scene she’s in. She’s a kind and loving woman, but isn’t afraid to speak her mind either. She has no problem with calling Otto out on his BS. Bayda is quite good as the trans teen Otto takes under his wing. Really, everybody delivers in A Man Called Otto. I can’t find a single false performance in the whole movie.
Director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball) strikes a deft balance of drama and humor in A Man Called Otto. It’s often quite funny; Otto gets off some great lines. At the same time, it’s moving in its depiction of the transformative power of love and caring. If you give love, you get love in return. It’s a lesson Otto has to (re)learn. That and how to get on with his life after loss. It’s territory that’s been covered countless times before and Forster, working from a script by David Magee (Finding Neverland), doesn’t do anything new with it. What he does do, however, is inject life into it. It’s not even close to a tired retread. It is a genuinely wonderful movie that benefits greatly from an outstanding lead performance by Hanks. It also stands as proof that not all remakes are lost causes. It’s neither better nor worse than the original which makes it a far cry better than most Americanized remakes. That’s a legit accomplishment!
