Film review: ‘A MAN CALLED OTTO’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

A Man Called Otto, which stars Tom Hanks, is the Hollywood remake of the Swedish comedy/ drama A Man Called Ove, a film I haven’t seen.

Hanks plays Otto Anderson who, as the films byline tells us, is ‘the grumpiest man in the world’. Bitter and contemptuous of just about everyone he meets, he spends his days stalking the grounds of his apartment complex looking for breaches of the rules and grumbling about and berating those who park in the wrong place or put the wrong items in the recycling bins.  He also rails against the weak-kneed, social media-obsessed modern world and all those perky young people who don’t have his old guy practical skills like fixing cars and who have the temerity to say hello to him. He could be the cousin of Clint Eastwood’s character from Grand Torino.

To those like myself who haven’t seen the Swedish original, this film at first looks like it’s going to be a grumpy old man-style comedy.  There is, however, a darker undercurrent here as Otto’s bitterness comes from grief following his wife Sonya’s death, something that leaves him contemplating taking his life.  As he prepares to carry out this tragic decision his world is disrupted by the arrival of a vibrant young family whose warmth and positivity are the complete opposite of Otto.

Even if this wasn’t a remake, most viewers would deduce that, after treating them with contempt and behaving like a tactless jerk, Otto will eventually warm to his neighbours and prove himself a decent and valuable human being.  It’s fairly predictable but Hanks and the other cast members commit sufficiently to their roles to make it work… for the most part.

Hanks’ Otto comes across as a genuine misery-guts but he plays him with just enough restraint to avoid caricature although at one point he does attack a hospital clown.  The supporting cast deliver mixed but mostly enjoyable performances. Mariana Trevino is the standout as the upbeat neighbour Marisol who along with her husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) heroically ignores Otto’s often vicious outbursts as she tries to find a beating heart in the neighbourhood Grinch.

Alongside Otto’s personal trials there’s a fairly predictable subplot about unscrupulous real estate agents trying to shaft Otto’s neighbours. This feels a little tacked on and simply there to give Otto a redemption arc.

Being a Hollywood film there are inevitable saccharine moments but there are also genuinely moving ones as Otto faces up to the reality that his wife isn’t coming back.  The flashback scenes to their early romance feature Tom Hanks’ son Truman as Otto and Rachel Keller – who fans of the brilliant TV adaptation of Fargo will remember as Simone Gerhardt – as Sonya.

A cursory glance at the plot of the original shows that this Hollywood version doesn’t radically depart from or build on that movie so it doesn’t seem like a vital remake but it’s competently handled, occasionally touching and sometimes genuinely funny.

Appropriately, given its subject matter, A Man Called Otto’s end credits note that anyone experiencing emotional difficulties should contact services such as Lifeline (13 11 14).

Nick’s rating: ***

Genre: Drama/ comedy.

Classification: M.

Director(s): Marc Foster.

Release date: 1st Jan 2023.

Running time: 126 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

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