christian movie review a man called otto

A Man Called Otto

Reviewed by: Alexander Malsan CONTRIBUTOR

Man forced to retire from his job of nearly 40 years

Difficulties of being a widower

An older man who has given up on life following the loss of his wife, become bitter, and wants to end it all

Bitterness, depressing negativity, loveless ways of thinking about the world

A short tempered grumpy old man

No longer seeing any purpose in one’s life following the loss of a spouse

DEPRESSION —Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer

What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression?

Challenging such a person to see life differently

SUICIDE —What does the Bible say? Answer

If a Christian commits suicide, will they go to Heaven? Answer

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer?

What about the issue of suffering ? Doesn’t this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer

Does God feel our pain?

ORIGIN OF BAD THINGS —Why are they in our world if a good God created us? Answer

For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE —a feeling, an emotion, or an action?

What is DEATH? and WHY does it exist? Answer in the Bible

What is ETERNAL LIFE ? and what does the Bible say about it?

What is ETERNAL DEATH ?

O tto does not like people… period. He goes to extremes just to avoid having to interact with them, and what little interaction he does have with those he comes in contact with he calls, “idiots.” Despite Otto’s short temperament and lack of social grace, the neighbors tend to look the other way and still interact with Otto ( Tom Hanks ) from time to time, even calling on him for help on occasion.

Take for example, Otto’s new neighbors, Marisol ( Mariana Treviño ), Tommy ( Manuel Garcia-Rulfo ) and their two daughters, Luna and Abbie. They have just moved across the street and like good neighbors, they walk over and introduce themselves to Otto. Otto says his quick hello and shuts the door. Marisol, in her mind, knows there’s more to Otto than meets the eye and is determined to make him feel cared for.

Over time, Marisol and Tommy ask Otto for assistance on a variety of things: from house maintenance, driving lessons, to even babysitting. While Otto wants to, at first, say no to this family, he just can’t seem to, and he finds himself warming up to them… just a little.

The world is full of many wonders, and Otto just happens to be one of them.

I have had SO many conversations with myself about how I was going to try and piece together my thoughts and compose my review for “A Man Called Otto.” This is, in part, due to the heavy themes that the piece sometimes delves into (which I will address in a minute) as well as Tom Hanks’ ability to play a role that, truthfully, is very out-of-character for him.

First, “A Man…” presents several instances of a character (I won’t say who) who attempts, and almost successfully, commits suicide. These moments on screen are so intense that I gasped in shock at what I witnessed (or almost witnessed). The issue itself, suicide and the value of life, is handled with respect though. It’s never laughed off (like in one of the “Halloween” films) or proclaiming that suicide is an answer.

In fact, what I can appreciate is the value of life is key to “A Man Called Otto.” “A Man…” speaks to the very messages of, “Life is ALWAYS worth living,” to “carry each other in times of struggle,” and that “everyone, everywhere matters. Even the grump next door.” These messages, some subtle, some not, make their way throughout the film, with many thematic moments bringing tears to my eyes at certain points.

Regarding the performances itself, I was skeptical walking into the theater looking at Tom Hanks in the role of Otto. I have not seen the original Swedish version of “A Man …”, so I cannot compare the versions. Having said that, like the characters on screens themselves, it took some time before I warmed up to the idea of Hanks playing Otto (in fact I kept thinking, “Wouldn’t someone like J.K. Simmons have been a better choice?”). But then as Hanks made his transition throughout the film, revealing subtle nuances in his performance, I realized what a good choice Hanks was and why Hanks wanted this role. Additionally, Mariana Treviño was hilarious and at times powerful as Marisol.

Cinematically, the film is above average in its other aspects of quality. The pacing was slow in the second act (I think I checked my watch twice), and moderately slow in the final act as well but not to the point where I was wishing for the end. There are some moments where the film stops, particularly during Otto’s flashbacks, where the audience is allowed to really grasp the pain Otto has endured, both physical and emotional, for most of his life, and I appreciate how the director went about it.

One thing I will STRONGLY object to is that is transgender messaging that made its way into the film (e.g. There is a transgender character that Otto takes in for the night because he was kicked out of the house by his dad for being transgender) and this transgender character plays a prominent role later on in the film as well. Why does transgender have to be a part of this film at all? Why does Hollywood have to proselytize its dangerous messaging ad nauseum ? I don’t go to movies to be preached at (unless it’s a Christian or faith-based film). I go to escape.

Content of Concern

*Warning: Some graphic descriptions regarding suicide are listed below. Reader discretion is advised**

VIOLENCE: As I said, a character attempts to commit suicide in a variety of ways such as hanging themselves (this is where he comes the closest to succeeding), trying to suffocate in a closed running car, shooting themself with a shotgun, and jumping in front a train. A different character falls on some train tracks, and he is saved by the character who was planning to stand on the tracks and get hit by a train (he still tries to get hit, but doesn’t succeed). He talks once about having a “car running him over.” Someone mentions you don’t “want me to cut my hand and have it bleed on your floor.” While Otto is teaching Marisol how to drive, while stopped, a man honks his horn and yells, and Otto gets out and holds the guy up against his car threatening him. Another character threatens someone. We witness a bus rollover with a couple characters hurt in the process (we later learn a character who was pregnant lost a child due to the crash). A character dies. A woman throws rocks at a stray cat.

VULGARITY: “F*cker” (1), “Sh*t” (6 —including “I'm gonna kill that piece of sh*t”), SOB (2), B*stard(s) (4), “Pr*cks” (1), “Groin” (1), “P*ssing” (1), “Brown guys” (UPS trucks), “Cr*p” (5), “S*cks” (1), “Knotheads(?)” (1), “Idiots” (used a lot), “You little bugger ”

Slang definition: Bugger

PROFANITY: “My G*d” (5), “G*d-d*mn” (2), “ Jeez ” (1). God’s name is used in vain 11 other times. “ H*ll ” (7), “ D*mn ” (2).

Slang definition: Jeez

SEXUAL CONTENT: A man wearing tight, revealing pants stretches, causing Otto to ask the man’s girlfriend if she can tell him to “stop stretching his groin in public.” A young Otto and Sonya kiss a couple times. Marisol and Tommy kiss, too. A husband and wife lay in bed, covered, and that’s it.

WOKEISM: As I said, a transgender character plays a prominent role in the last portion of the film and there’s some LGBTQIA+ messaging in the film (talks about how he got kicked out due to being transgender, likes sports now, etc.).

ALCOHOL: Someone brings alcohol to an event but no one drinks it.

OTHER: There is some dog urine on the sidewalk. We see a cat frozen in the snow (he is found and taken care of and recovers).

“A Man Called Otto” has two primary messages. The first is to “love our neighbors” (even if we don’t like them). Not only is loving your neighbor one of the Ten Commandments , but Jesus himself touched upon it in his messages…

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. — Luke 6:27-28 ESV

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” — John 15:12 ESV

The second message of the film speaks about living one’s life, to live with purpose and to never take your life for granted. This is an Earthly message. The more Godly message is to live with purpose for God. Our life is not ours alone. It belongs to our Creator. Regenerate Christians were bought with a heavy price and so we must honor that sacrifice by living for Him, bearing good fruit in Jesus’ name.

“Before I formed you [ Jeremiah ] in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. — Jeremiah 1:5 NASB

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord , the fruit of the womb a reward.” — Psalm 127:3 ESV

“For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’” — Acts 17:28 ESV

Final Thoughts

“A Man Called Otto” made me ponder some of my choices as a Christian. Who have I ignored? Who have I forgotten? Where do I lack compassion? These important messages certainly made their way across and could be nice jumping points for great discussions… but only for mature audiences. Several scenes involving suicide, profanity and vulgarity and a LGBTQIA+ message thrown in do not make this a family, or necessarily, Christian-friendly film for all audiences. Strong viewer discretion is advised.

• Violence: Heavy
• Profane language: Moderately Heavy
• Wokeism: Moderately Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Sex: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Nudity: Minor —cleavage
• Occult: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

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Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Movie Review: ‘A Man Called Otto’

NEW YORK (OSV News) — The transformation of a grump into a warm and fuzzy character is a trope as old as the Hollywood Hills. So, while the drama-and-comedy blend “A Man Called Otto” (Sony) proves generally goodhearted, it also turns out to be formulaic. Mature discernment is required, moreover, to deal with some of the film’s themes.

Tom Hanks plays the curmudgeonly bereaved widower of the title.Otto’s dissatisfaction with life in general is publicly expressed through his nitpicking insistence on adherence to the petty rules by which his suburban housing development is regulated — and the confrontational manner in which he deals with all those who transgress them.

Thus the term idiot is one of the mainstays of his vocabulary.

In private, meanwhile, Otto’s unresolved grief leads him to take desperate measures to rejoin his beloved wife, Sonya (Rachel Keller). The grim nature of his current existence — and his efforts to end it — are contrasted with warmly nostalgic flashbacks to his and Sonya’s Vietnam War-era romance and early life together.

Otto eventually finds renewed hope after he’s befriended, at first unwillingly, by Marisol (Mariana Treviño) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a young Latino couple who’ve just moved in across the street. Sunny, spunky Marisol, in particular, works to dispel Otto’s isolation and gloom — in part by cooking and baking for him.

As he reassesses his grim outlook, Otto also reconsiders his longstanding alienation from another pair of neighbors, Anita (Juanita Jennings) and Ruben (Peter Lawson Jones). They had once been his and Sonya’s best pals but Otto gradually allowed minor irritants to dissolve the relationship.

Director Marc Forster’s screen version of Swedish author Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel “A Man Called Ove” — previously adapted, in its original language, by Hannes Holm — celebrates kindness, emotional openness and reconciliation. Yet, as scripted by David Magee, this character study is not wholly free of problematic elements.

The screenplay’s treatment of Otto’s continuously futile attempts to kill himself, for instance, is somewhat frivolous since his repeated failures are presented as mildly comic mishaps. And homage is paid to the zeitgeist via Otto’s interaction with Malcolm (Mack Bayda), a downtrodden transexual.

Hanks manages to elevate the hackneyed plotline his character is forced to follow into an arc of some interest. Yet, even with his gift for understated intensity driving the proceedings, there can be little suspense involved in a conversion story whose outcome can be foreseen from the start.

The film contains mature themes, including suicide and gender-switching, a couple of profanities, about a dozen milder oaths, occasional crude language and several crass expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News.

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A MAN CALLED OTTO

"the realities of grief ".

What You Need To Know:

Miscellaneous Immorality: Grieving man often calls people idiots, but neighborly love transforms his character for the better.

More Detail:

A MAN CALLED OTTO stars Tom Hanks as a grumpy senior citizen grieving his beloved wife’s death whose attempts to commit suicide are interrupted by the needs and compassion of the Latino wife and mother whose family moves next door to him and transforms his life. A MAN CALLED OTTO is an entertaining, well-acted and heartwarming, with a strong message of love thy neighbor, but it’s undone by a theme depicting attempts of suicide and transgender political commentary directed towards teenagers.

As the movie opens, Otto is deeply depressed over the loss of his wife. Every day Otto tries to keep things in order on his street, including making sure the street gate is closed and that people are using their parking permits correctly. He’s become a bit of a grump at everyone with whom he interacts. One day, he decides that he would like to be with his wife, Sonya, and tries to commit suicide by hanging a rope to the ceiling. The rope ends up breaking, and he falls instead of dying.

At the same time, Otto sees an Hispanic family trying to parallel park their car and decides to go out and tell them they are doing it all wrong. The family consists of a feisty, pregnant mother, Marisol, her husband and two cute little girls.

Marisol is spunky and friendly and doesn’t let Otto go unnoticed. She decides to bring him food, to thank him, and asks for some tools for fixing the house. Even unintentionally, Otto starts to find some purpose in the midst of his grief, through the needs of helping his neighbors. Though this is the case, Otto still tries to take his own life, thinking if he does so he will be with his wife Sonya in Heaven.

Meanwhile, some flashbacks show how Otto met his wife and fell in love.

A MAN CALL OTTO is a well-made, entertaining movie with many heartwarming moments. Despite the movie’s references to attempted suicide, it has a morally uplifting message of love thy neighbor. Tom Hanks once again does a great job in the role he’s playing. Also, Mariana Trevino plays the character of Marisol exceptionally well. The supporting cast adds some additional flair.

However, some of the movie’s messaging seems to be for the pure purpose of preaching a political agenda. It comes off as extraneous and gratuitous, as well as dilutes the purity of the love thy neighbor message. At one point, Otto learns that a young man delivering newspapers is actually transgender. The young man, who has a light five o’clock shadow, tells Otto his transgender status when he comes to Otto asking to stay at Otto’s place because his father has kicked him out of the house. Otto tells him that his father is “an idiot.” So, the young man starts staying at Otto’s house, and they become good friends. This implies all who do not support their children making a drastic decision of transition is an “idiot”.

Finally, A MAN CALLED OTTO has about 30 obscenities and profanities. Also, Otto tries to commit suicide multiple times, and viewers see how he’s trying to do it. Suicide is a very tricky thing to display in a visual way, because studies show people who are themselves dealing with depressive and suicidal thoughts may see the steps taken in a movie and may be influenced.

So, ultimately, media-wise, sensitive moviegoers will find the movie unacceptable, despite its positive, heartwarming content.

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A man called otto.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 27 Reviews
• Kids Say 25 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Neighborly love warms comedy about suicidal curmudgeon.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Tom Hanks produced and stars in A Man Called Otto, an ultimately life-affirming dramedy that deals frankly with suicidal ideation. Adapted from Fredrik Backman's bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove, it centers on a man named…

Why Age 13+?

Several suicide attempts (hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, shooting, train) t

Strong language includes "bastard," "crap," "goddamn," "pr--ks," "s--t," "son of

Recurring joke about men who identify with certain car brands, so vehicles are h

A married couple's love story is told from beginning to end in flashbacks. Kissi

Any Positive Content?

While movie deals with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, ultimate message

Marisol, an immigrant and mother, is persistent, caring, unapologetically hersel

Positive characters who are diverse in terms of age, gender, race, disability, a

Violence & Scariness

Several suicide attempts (hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, shooting, train) that fail in ways that are depicted as humorous; ultimately, the character comes to understand that life has much to offer him, and he has much to offer others. Vehicular accident with bodies strewn about; strong emotional consequences. Hostile but humorous behavior from main character toward small animals. Peril when a person falls onto railroad tracks. Road rage incident: driver pulled out of vehicle.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Strong language includes "bastard," "crap," "goddamn," "pr--ks," "s--t," "son of a bitch," "suck," and "what the hell." Cranky character calls people "idiots" and calls the neighborhood stray "stupid cat."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Recurring joke about men who identify with certain car brands, so vehicles are highlighted with close-ups on the ornament or logo.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A married couple's love story is told from beginning to end in flashbacks. Kissing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

While movie deals with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, ultimate message is that life has more to offer than we may think -- we just need to hang in there and be open to what it brings us. Cranky people likely have a painful reason behind their rude behavior. Themes of love, loss, compassion, finding family in unexpected places.

Positive Role Models

Marisol, an immigrant and mother, is persistent, caring, unapologetically herself. Neighbors, co-workers, and people Otto comes into contact with are remarkably patient and cheery despite his rude behavior.

Diverse Representations

Positive characters who are diverse in terms of age, gender, race, disability, and economics. Focus on issues related to aging, including forced retirement, loss, and health problems. Title character, director, and writer are all White men, but a Latino family is the heart of the film; the matriarch is a Mexican immigrant (played by Mexican actor Mariana Treviño) who frequently speaks in unsubtitled Spanish. Significant supporting characters with disabilities. Transgender character shares his struggle with family acceptance.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Tom Hanks produced and stars in A Man Called Otto, an ultimately life-affirming dramedy that deals frankly with suicidal ideation. Adapted from Fredrik Backman's bestselling book and the Academy Award-nominated 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove , it centers on a man named Otto (Hanks), the epitome of the cranky "get off my lawn" type, who wants to end his life as a matter of efficiency. The movie presents a series of humorously interrupted attempts at his death via suicide (using a rope, asphyxiation, a gun, etc.), all of which lead to the point at which Otto realizes that, while his wife and career are gone, life can still be fulfilling. The movie encourages giving others grace, since you may not be aware of what they're going through. The residents in Otto's housing complex are diverse in terms of age, gender, race, economics, disability, and health, and they're the definition of "neighborly." Otto is counterbalanced by Marisol ( Mariana Treviño ), a positively portrayed Mexican immigrant mother of two who moves in across the street. In addition to Otto's attempts at ending his life, there's a road rage incident. Otto is impatient with others and calls them "idiots," "bastards," and "pr--ks." Other language includes "s--t" and "goddamn." Characters kiss. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (27)
• Kids say (25)

Based on 27 parent reviews

Multiple Realistic and Long-Form Depictions of Suicide

Could be triggering to those with mental illness, what's the story.

Tom Hanks is A MAN CALLED OTTO, the neighborhood crank who has no tolerance for those who don't follow the rules. After retiring and the loss of his wife, Otto feels he has nothing else to live for. But his pesky neighbors keep interrupting his attempts to end his life.

Is It Any Good?

With this remarkably warm and fulfilling film, Hanks and director Marc Forster pull off the impossible: making a family-friendly suicide comedy. Even though the 2015 Swedish original starring Rolf Lassgård was quite successful, after watching A Man Called Otto , it feels impossible to picture anyone else in the starring role. Hanks' grumpy old man trumps all of those who came before him: Clint Eastwood , Walter Matthau , Jack Lemmon , etc. He's so beloved that every rude thing he says is likely to make you laugh, and Forster smartly balances the crankiness by surrounding Otto with warmhearted souls who return his barbs with a knowing look and a smile: Yep, that's Otto! They don't take his mean streak to heart, and it allows viewers to go on the journey and care about him.

While we might understand that Otto "is something special," he's also the dark to the light that is Marisol (Mariana Treviño), the very pregnant woman who moves across the street from Otto. She's a flutter of radiant energy that just refuses to be pushed aside by Otto's hostility. And she's just one strong example of positive diverse representation in the film. The residents in Otto's townhouse complex represent "community" in every sense of the word: They're a family in their own unique way, with residents from all stages and walks of life who look out for each other in good times and bad. While Otto's suicide attempts do make the film too mature for younger children, it's a strong choice for movie night with teens and grandparents.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how A Man Called Otto plays on viewers' compassion . How can we practice patience for those who exhibit bitter behavior while also not indulging unacceptable treatment?

How does the movie portray depression and suicidal ideation? What should you do if you're worried about a friend or family member? What resources are available to help both kids and adults ? (If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.)

Even though Otto is impatient and unkind, did you find yourself rooting for him? What skills does Hanks use to make Otto likable and vulnerable?

Talk about the diversity represented in Otto's neighborhood. Does this accurately reflect real life? Why is positive representation in the media important?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 30, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : February 28, 2023
• Cast : Tom Hanks , Mariana Treviño , Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
• Director : Marc Forster
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Latino actors
• Studio : Columbia Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Book Characters
• Character Strengths : Compassion
• Run time : 126 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language
• Last updated : April 20, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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• Movie Review: A Man Called Otto

It has been a solid two years since my wife and I had the opportunity of watching a movie in theaters. We tried to see Dune while she was pregnant but quickly left the theater, fearing the insanely loud music might cause hearing damage to our unborn baby! With the in-laws in town last week, we seized our chance to hit the theaters for the first time since our child’s birth.

We were willing to see any movie, just to have the chance to be out together without our baby for only the second time. Without doing any homework, we quickly scanned for evening shows at the closest theater to see what lined up well with our baby’s bedtime. A favorite actor of mine stood out, which caught our curiosity. Without even watching a trailer, we read the following synopsis on IMBD and decided on seeing A Man Called Otto , featuring Tom Hanks. “Otto is a grump who’s given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.”

By the time we made it to the theaters, I had forgotten about 90% of that brief summary and only remembered it was about a grumpy old man, making the movie all the more surprising. This was perhaps the first time in my life I’d walked into a theater without knowing what to expect. The following will contain spoiler alerts, so continue reading with caution. The last thing I will say before providing my review of the movie for those who wish to read no further is that this film is a must watch. It contains Catholic undertones throughout and highlights the radiant nature of Christ’s love present in all things.

We are immediately introduced to Otto, who is played by Tom Hanks. He is a man in his 60s who lives a miserable life that has no meaning. Otto thinks the world is full of idiots and everyone around him is a nuisance. He argues with a store clerk over a minor discrepancy in price. He picks fights with his neighbors and yells at the stray cat by his garage. On the day of his retirement, he fumes out of the office after having nothing nice to say about anyone in the company.

Then, Otto calls up the utility companies to cancel his electricity, gas, and home phone line. Shortly after, Otto is seen fashioning a rope to his ceiling to hang himself. His suicide attempt is interrupted by his new Hispanic neighbors, Marisol and Tommy, as they struggle to parallel park a U-Haul. He angrily parks the U-Haul for them and storms back inside his house. Despite his outburst, Marisol and Tommy expressed their gratitude towards Otto by bringing him a home cooked meal. After wolfing it down, he put the rope around his neck once more.

As he dangled from the ceiling, Otto’s life flashed before his eyes. He recalls earlier memories of the time he met his wife Sonya by chance after she dropped a book at a train station. A younger Otto, who couldn’t afford to pay for his train ticket, was given money by Sonya to pay the conductor. She had given him one quarter too many; a quarter he kept all his life. As Otto’s flashback ends, the rope snaps and he falls to the floor, unsuccessful in his attempt to kill himself. He is next seen sitting in a cemetery making conversation to his wife’s grave, lamenting his wish to be with her.

Without going into too much detail about the subsequent scenes, the rest of the movie follows the same pattern. Otto seeks new ways to kill himself, only to be interrupted in the act to do some charitable deed for his neighbors. After his botched attempt at hanging himself, he tries filling his car with exhaust fumes. To his dismay, Marisol comes knocking on his garage door seeking his help. He later goes to a train station in hopes of getting hit. As the train approaches, an elderly man falls onto the tracks. Appalled by the mass of youths taking out their cellphones to record the helpless man, Otto comes to the rescue and saves the man from certain death.

Finally, after three failed suicide attempts, Otto grabs a shotgun from his attic. He was ready to blow his brains out until a flashback of his wife helped him recall her words to him decades prior after a bus accident took the life of her child in the womb. Despite their heartbreak and her paralysis, Sonya urged Otto to keep on living. This memory spoke deeply to his heart, as if she were before him saying this in the present. A conveniently timed knock on the front door frightened Otto into accidentally firing a round from his shotgun, narrowly missing his face. Once more, his help was wanted.

The only woke part of the film, a transgender named Malcolm was kicked out of the home by her father and sought refuge at Otto’s. But in a flash of unintentional, Catholic brilliance, the film highlighted the goodness behind the heart of every sinner, focusing instead on the common dignity shared between humans. Malcolm was once a student of Sonya’s, Otto learned after yelling at Malcolm for delivering newspapers to the neighborhood. Otto woke the next morning to a well-prepared breakfast by Malcolm.

Despite his frequent outbursts and bleak outlook on life, Otto’s neighbors, like Christ, begin to know him better than he knows himself. They were able to see past his behavior to see his heart. Though always angered by their presence, Otto dropped everything he was doing to help his neighbors, without exception. Even though he was too arrogant to admit it, deep down, he knew it was the right thing to do. In the words of St. Paul, “They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them” (Romans 2:15).

A series of flashbacks to Otto’s younger days with Sonya deeply embeds the viewer into the wounds that caused him to be so bitter. Sonya was his world, and her death crippled his spirit in the same way the bus accident crippled her legs. It’s hard not to feel the massive hole in Otto’s heart as the film advances. He longs for the love of his wife and fails to see that love as universal in the world around him. The genius of this movie is its ability to highlight the aching deep within the soul that causes us to lash out in sin. Behind every deformed heart is a series of wounds. Every heart longs to love and be loved but tragically collapses in on itself when blinded to the source of love itself. All you can love is yourself when you wall yourself off to the outside, which as Otto’s character demonstrates, really is no love at all.

Towards the conclusion of the film, Otto and his neighbors get caught up in a heated battle with the realty company which has taken over the HOA. In an attempt to corporatize the community, the firm used illicitly obtained medical records to argue an elderly couple was unfit to live in their home. The couple, Reuben and Anita, moved into the neighborhood at the same time as Otto and Sonya, and were close friends until Sonya’s passing devastated Otto. When the realty company began terrorizing his old friends, he knew he needed to act.

This is the pivotal moment in the film when Otto discovers his new vocation in the absence of his wife and realizes he is meant to love in new ways. A day after grabbing a shotgun to kill himself, Otto races across the street to ask Marisol if he can borrow her phone. She forcefully rejects his plea after leaving her out in the street the day prior, worried sick for his wellbeing. Marisol had spent the duration of the film showing as much neighborly love to Otto as possible, in order to crack his absolved ego. And unbeknownst to him at the time, Otto returned in kind. He taught her how to drive, he helped install a new dishwasher, he babysat her two children, and he drove her to the hospital after Tommy fell off a ladder borrowed from Otto.

At a time Otto needed her most, she could not love Otto any longer until he opened his wounds to her. A very Sacramental scene, Marisol deeply wanted to continue loving Otto. But after hurting her so badly, reconciliation was only possible once Otto confessed his wounds and outwardly expressed his inward struggles. Otto confessed his wife’s recent passing, his wife’s paralysis, the bus crash which killed his son, and his recent attempts at suicide. The two were thus reconciled and able to authentically love each other and pursue the common good of defending their neighbors, Reuben and Anita. The team was able to successfully thwart the realty company’s threats with the help of a social media journalist who reached out to Otto after his heroics at the train station.

Otto’s reconciliation and subsequent discernment of his vocation ushered in a new chapter in his life. The grumpy old man was no longer grumpy but full of life and charity towards his friends. A heart attack befalls Otto shortly after his beautiful transformation. Marisol, by his bedside, is informed by the nurse that Otto would someday be killed for having “too big of a heart”, a rare condition that’s plagued him all his life. After following grumpy old Otto through his journey, the irony sends Marisol into a seizing fit of laughter, creating the most hilarious scene of the whole movie.

Nice Otto takes great pride and joy in acting charitably towards his neighbors, finding fulfillment in life from bringing joy to others. He gives his car to Malcolm who had only ever owned a bicycle, he takes in the stray cat as his own, he willingly spends more time with his neighbors and names Marisol as his next of kin, and he takes them all with him to visit his wife’s grave.

Marisol and Tommy wake on a snowy morning to find that Otto never shoveled his walkway. The troubling sight caused panic, since they knew the diligent man always took care of the community when it snowed. They quickly raced across the street and sprinted up the stairs to find Otto lifeless on his bed, reaching towards the floor to grab the quarter Sonya gave him when they first met. Tommy finds a note on Otto’s dresser addressed to Marisol he had written some time earlier to let her know that when he passed, it was from his condition and not from his own hands. Otto poured out his heart to Marisol in the letter. He was gone, but his love was still present. He left Marisol his truck and his estate, to pay for her children’s education, leaving a lasting imprint on his neighbors who he was able to die calling family.

Fittingly, the movie concludes with a funeral Mass at a Catholic Church. That is when it clicked that this wasn’t simply a movie we chose to see, but something we were drawn towards to deepen our understanding of Christ’s love – especially regarding the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Matrimony. Otto’s love and purpose was discovered in matrimony with his wife. After her passing, his reconciliation renewed his love and brought him into communion with love itself, until it finally consumed him with the warm embrace of death in Christ.

So much can be learned from this beautiful film. Otto never deserved to be treated so nicely by his neighbors. They treated him with mercy even when he couldn’t be bothered to treat them in kind. No matter how many times Otto insulted them, tried to run away, and shroud himself in the darkness of death, they always forgave him. Their love only grew and grew until it blinded him. As we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul this week, I am reminded of how Christ’s love literally blinded him and knocked him off his high horse. Otto and St. Paul were not conquered by Christ, but liberated against their false identity and woundedness.

This movie was a perfect representation of the love Christ has for sinners. No matter how often we sin against God, no matter how closed in on ourselves we wish to be, and no matter how hard we try to run from his love, the light always manages to find us even in the darkest of corners. God’s love is everywhere , and there isn’t a single place in the universe that his love is incapable of reaching. He keeps loving and loving, because love is all He can do, for God is love. A Man Called Otto was a clandestine work of the Holy Spirit to remind us of the nature of love and redemption offered through the mercy of Jesus Christ. I now know it was no coincidence to see the cashier at the movie theater wearing a bracelet that said “Jesus”.

Go see this movie while you can!

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A Man Called Otto

In Marc Forster ’s genial, earnest yet unremarkable dramedy “A Man Called Otto,” the titular character Otto can’t pick his daily battles even if his life depended on it. Living in an unfussy suburban neighborhood of identical row houses somewhere in the Midwest, the aging man gets easily annoyed by every little misstep of a stranger. And his protests are so pronounced that they even rival Larry David ’s in an average episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Portrayed by the beloved Tom Hanks in an indistinct performance that splits the difference between quirky and grounded, Otto is often right about his grievances, to his credit. Why should he pay for six feet of rope and waste a few extra cents, for instance, when he bought just a little over five? Why shouldn’t he warn inconsiderate drivers who often block garage doors or entitled neighbors who can’t as much as remember to close a gate and respect basic rules about trash disposal? Or pick up a fuss when the soulless real estate guys from the fictional and hilariously named “Dye & Merica” show up to sabotage the community’s peace?

Then again, not everything is as awful as Otto makes them out to be. And he could perhaps afford to have some manners himself, especially when a new, very pregnant neighbor drops by with a bowl of home-cooked meal as a courtesy.

If you’ve already seen 2015’s Oscar-nominated Swedish hit “ A Man Called Ove ” by Hannes Holm , a film that is not any better or worse than this middle-of-the-road American remake (yes, not all originals are automatically superior), you’ll know that Otto hasn’t always been this insufferable. In small doses of syrupy and visually overworked flashbacks, Forster and agile screenwriter David Magee show us that he was socially awkward even from his young days, but at least nice and approachable. With a squarely unstylish side-part haircut that aptly gives out a “nice but unworldly guy” vibe, young Otto (played by the star’s own son, Truman Hanks) had an interest in engineering, in figuring out how things work. His life apparently changed when he accidentally met the dreamy Sonya ( Rachel Keller ), who later on became his wife and passed away recently.

As was the case in “Ove,” Otto can’t wait to join his wife on the other side, but his frequent suicide attempts get interrupted in episodes that are sometimes awkwardly funny, and other times, just plain awkward. The chief interrupters of our get-off-my-lawn guy are the abovementioned new neighbors: the happily married-with-kids couple Marisol (a bubbly and scene-stealing Mariana Treviño , the absolute best thing about the film) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Ruflo), who often ask little favors from the grumpy Otto. There are also others in the neighborhood, like a kindly transgender teenager Malcolm (Mack Bayda) thrown out of his house by his dad, the fitness-obsessed Jimmy ( Cameron Britton ), Otto’s old friend Rueben ( Peter Lawson Jones), and his wife Anita (Juanita Jennings), who are no longer on cordial terms with Otto. And let’s not forget a stray cat that no one seems to know what to do with for a while.

The mystery is that none of the supporting personalities in this story can take a hint about Otto, at least not well into the film’s second act. Instead, all the characters collectively treat Otto with patience and acceptance, as if he isn’t being willfully rude to them every chance he gets. For example, it’s anyone’s guess why Otto’s work colleagues bother to throw him a retirement party when it will surely go unappreciated or why Marisol continuously insists on trying to bring out the good side of him when Otto offensively shuts down every one of her genuine attempts.

Still, the story manages to land some charms when Otto finally lets his guard down and starts making all the expected amends, while suffering a rare heart condition on the side. First, he becomes a local hero when he unwittingly saves someone’s life in front of a group of unhelpful people too preoccupied with their phones. Later on, he racks up additional goodwill when he takes Malcolm in and builds a slow yet steady friendship with Marisol, a rewarding storyline in an otherwise predictable tale.

But the biggest win of Forster’s adaptation is its worthwhile message about the small wins of everyday people who operate as a functioning and harmonious community against the evils of faceless corporations. “A Man Called Otto” isn’t exactly as philosophical as “ About Schmidt ” or as socially conscious as “ I, Daniel Blake ,” two films that occasionally hit similar notes. But it’s nevertheless a wholesome crowd-pleaser for your next family gathering.

In limited release now, wide on January 13th.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

• Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson
• Mariana Treviño as Marisol
• Kailey Hyman as Barb
• Rachel Keller as
• Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as
• Cameron Britton as
• Mike Birbiglia as
• Elle Chapman as Sarah
• David Magee
• Fredrik Backman
• Marc Forster
• Matt Chesse

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• Matthias Koenigswieser

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A Man Called Otto

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Watch A Man Called Otto with a subscription on Netflix, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Check all cynicism at the door and allow A Man Called Otto to tug at your heartstrings with its tried-and-true tune -- it just might sing.

With a perfect Tom Hanks in the lead, A Man Called Otto is almost guaranteed to make you laugh and cry.

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Marc Forster

Otto Anderson

Mariana Treviño

Rachel Keller

Manuel García-Rulfo

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A Man Called Otto

Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a f... Read all Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around. Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.

• Marc Forster
• Fredrik Backman
• Hannes Holm
• David Magee
• Mariana Treviño
• Rachel Keller
• 710 User reviews
• 181 Critic reviews
• 51 Metascore
• 1 win & 8 nominations

Top cast 94

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• Trivia The young Otto is played by Truman Hanks , Tom's son, who was 26 years old during principal photography.
• Goofs When Otto is at the train station, one sees a line of trains parked outside. They are yellow. These rail cars are modern safecar automobile trains and didn't exist at the time the movie was set in. Most automotive carriers at the time were flat beds or side load.

Otto Anderson : [to Marisol] You have given birth to two children. Soon it will be three. You have come here from a country very far away. You learned a new language, you got yourself an education and a nitwit husband and you are holding that family together. You will have no problem learning how to drive. My god, the world is full of complete idiots who have managed to figure it out, and you are not a complete idiot. So, cluch, shift, gas, drive.

• Connections Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Tom Hanks/Naomi Ackie/Suranne Jones/Richard Osman/Rina Sawayama (2022)
• Soundtracks This Woman's Work Written and Performed by Kate Bush Courtesy of Noble & Brite Ltd

User reviews 710

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• January 13, 2023 (United States)
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• United Kingdom
• Sony Pictures
• Un Vecino Gruñón
• Central Union Terminal, Toledo, Ohio, USA (Train Station)
• Artistic Films
• Big Indie Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $50,000,000 (estimated)
• $64,267,657
• Jan 1, 2023
• $113,359,847

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 6 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• Dolby Surround 7.1
• Dolby Atmos

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‘a man called otto’ review: tom hanks in a predictable but touching portrait of grief and resilience.

The Oscar winner plays the title role in this remake of the hit Swedish film about a curmudgeonly widower learning to embrace life again.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Tom hanks warns fans about ai-generated ads using his likeness to sell "wonder drugs", mike birbiglia's stand-up fundraiser for ymca draws judd apatow, nick kroll and larry wilmore, a man called otto.

Set in an unnamed Rust Belt town that has clearly seen better days (the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh), this American version directed by Marc Forster ( Finding Neverland ) closely follows its Swedish predecessor in most regards. Otto, who has recently been pushed out of his engineering managerial job, mainly spends his time scowling and grunting at anyone who has the temerity to cross his path and enforcing the rules of his gated neighborhood, which is controlled by the sort of real-estate company whose smarmy representative ( Mike Birbiglia , in a role making little use of his comic talents) would have made a suitable villain in a Frank Capra movie.  

His humanity only emerges during his regular visits to her grave, where he makes it clear that he intends to join her soon. It’s also revealed in a series of flashbacks to his younger days, in which the young Otto (Truman Hanks, Tom’s son, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his old man) has a meet-cute with Sonya (Rachel Keller, suitably endearing) when he boards a train going in the wrong direction in order to return a book she’s dropped. We see the couple moving into the home where the middle-aged Otto still lives and making friends with their neighbors, and then Sonya getting pregnant and tragically losing the baby in a bus accident that results in her being confined to a wheelchair.

The storyline’s less convincing elements include Otto becoming a social media sensation after he’s filmed rescuing an elderly man who’s fallen onto train tracks. That allows him to exploit his newfound fame when the real estate company attempts to evict his longtime neighbors after they experience major health issues. It’s the sort of melodramatic plot contrivance that feels wholly unnecessary, as if screenwriter David Magee didn’t trust that the story of a grief-stricken man regaining his will to live would carry enough emotional weight.

But it’s hard to mind too much, thanks to Hanks’ perfectly modulated, understated performance — he’s truly moving when you feel Otto’s frost slowly starting to thaw — and the welcome comic moments that alleviate the film’s more heavy-handed aspects. There’s a particularly wonderful moment when Otto winds up in the hospital after collapsing in the street and Marisol is gravely informed that his heart is “too big.” Instead of registering alarm, she collapses into hysterical laughter, with Otto having the grace to fully get the joke.

Although A Man Called Otto never fully rises above its obvious plot machinations, director Forster thankfully applies a fairly restrained, subtle approach. The result is a film to which you ultimately find yourself succumbing even though you never stop being aware that your heartstrings are being shamelessly pulled.

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Review: Tom Hanks gives ‘A Man Called Otto’ an easygoing sincerity

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It says something about the current state of studio filmmaking in Hollywood that all the things that make “A Man Called Otto” stand out are things that really should make it commonplace. The film is made with a level of craft and simple competence that has become shockingly rare. A genuine movie star is allowed to radiate charisma and charm, and all the performances have character nuance and emotional depth.

These should be the basic building blocks of Hollywood moviemaking and yet here we are, with “A Man Called Otto” feeling special for being a winsome dramedy with some effective moments of tearjerking tenderness. It’s not so much a matter of they don’t make them like this anymore as they should be making them like this all the time.

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Directed by Marc Forster, the film is based on the 2012 novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman, which became an international bestseller and previously was adapted into a 2016 Swedish film that earned two Oscar nominations. From a screenplay by David Magee, who this year also wrote the adapted screenplays for “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and “The School for Good and Evil,” the new film finds enough ways to update the core material to keep it fresh.

As the film opens, Otto (Tom Hanks) is buying a few bits and pieces at a hardware store and then gets into an argument with a clerk about whether he is being overcharged by a few cents for a length of rope. Once he is back at his modest, meticulously kept row house, it is revealed that Otto plans to kill himself, but life keeps getting in the way.

There are his new neighbors, Marisol and Tommy (Mariana Treviño and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a young couple with two small children and expecting another. The trans kid who delivers the newspapers was a student of Otto’s deceased wife, a teacher. Otto also finds himself reconnecting with a pair of longtime neighbors with whom he had a falling-out. Even a self-styled “social media journalist” won’t leave him alone after Otto, who had intended to throw himself onto the tracks, saves a man from being struck by a train.

Otto seems at first to be a rigid, stuck-in-his-ways old man similar to the type Clint Eastwood has played recently in films such as “Gran Torino,” “The Mule” and “Cry Macho,” men who must learn to overcome their prejudices. Otto, largely because of circumstances revealed around his late wife (played in flashbacks by Rachel Keller), is more readily open-minded and open-hearted than those Eastwood characters. He is nevertheless endlessly aggravated by others for a perceived lack of knowledge or abilities.

The film is an odd companion to Hanks’ recent, more willfully weird turn as Colonel Tom Parker in “Elvis,” which found him working against an accent and prosthetics and a fanciful villainous characterization. His role in “Otto” plays to Hanks’ more obvious strengths, his essential affability even when he is presenting a gruff, unyielding exterior. The sweet heart of the character is never too far below the surface.

“A Man Called Otto” is also something of a family affair, with Rita Wilson, Hanks’ wife, as one of the producers and co-writing and performing the song “Til You’re Home.” In flashback scenes, young Otto is played by one of Hanks’ and Wilson’s children, Truman Hanks. And in one of the film’s slyer jokes, the hip-hop song “White Boy Summer” by their son Chet Hanks is used to personify a certain kind of clueless obliviousness in others.

The real standout in the supporting cast is Treviño, a comedy star in her native Mexico who brings real energy and feeling to her role as one of Otto’s new neighbors. She barges into Otto’s orderly life and brings a bit of chaos with her, inserting a much-needed liveliness into the movie as well. Mike Birbiglia is also well cast playing against type as a sleazy real estate developer.

It is not meant as faint praise to say that “A Man Called Otto” is nice. The film has an easygoing, please-like-me quality that somehow never comes off as desperate but instead gives it a reassuring quality, like a mug of warm tea. It’s borderline corny, but sometimes corny can mean unselfconscious, willing to be unguarded in its sincerity. The tender message of hopefulness and spiritual renewal is a welcome tonic as the year comes to a close.

'A Man Called Otto'

Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving suicide attempts, and language. Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes Playing: Starts Dec. 30, AMC the Grove, Los Angeles; AMC Century City

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Movie review: 'living' and 'a man called otto'.

Bob Mondello

Two new films about men who find flexibility late in life, "Living" and "A Man Called Otto," are remakes of acclaimed foreign films: Director Akira Kurosawa's "Ikuru" and Sweden's "A Man Called Ove."

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A Man Called Otto Review: Tom Hanks Shines in Sentimental but Uplifting Remake

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A grouchy widower whose given up on life begrudgingly finds new purpose through an unexpected friendship. A Man Called Otto remakes the brilliant Swedish film and bestselling novel with a distinctly American flavor. Tom Hanks shines in a sentimental story that treads sappy, but wins you over by the end. It's impossible not to feel emotional in a climax that plays heartstrings like a fiddle. Mariana Treviño nearly steals the show as a pregnant wife with a saucy personality. She reminds that even the most hardened loners need love and warmth despite their mean objections.

Otto Anderson (Hanks) has had enough. He's forced into retirement after decades as an engineer. Otto's job working with millennial and Gen Z morons was the only thing keeping his mind busy. He desperately misses his deceased wife. Otto spends each day making sure everyone in his townhome, cul-de-sac community abides by the rules. That's parking permits hung in plain sight, neat yards, and putting garbage in the proper receptacles. Otto's livid to find plastic in the trash bin. People are so stupid and careless. His neighbors try to stay clear of Otto's wrath.

A Breath of Fresh Air

A breath of fresh air blows into the cul-de-sac. The pregnant Marisol (Treviño), her inept husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and their adorable young daughters move in across the street. Otto sneers as the "renters" can't even back up their U-Haul. His disgust peaking to the point of parallel parking for them.

Marisol is confounded by the grumpy old man. She doesn't understand why he's always so upset. Their interactions become more frequent as her family always needs help. Marisol realizes that despite his harsh exterior, Otto has been invaluable in assisting every neighbor. As Otto continually thinks of new ways to end his life, a ruthless realtor (Mike Birbiglia) hungrily eyes the cul-de-sac.

Related: Broker Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda's Sublime Exploration of Family's Meaning

A Man Called Otto is told in two timelines. He remembers meeting his beloved wife (Rachel Keller) as a young man, portrayed by Hanks' real-life son, Truman Hanks, in his acting debut. This relationship was the center of Otto's world. Tragic events shaped him into the present's irascible curmudgeon. Marisol has to unlock Otto's secret past to gain insight into his personality. These two stories anchor the film. Otto hides his pain in plain sight. He's not forthcoming and becomes defensive when anyone prods.

The eccentric characters will be endearing to some and annoying to others. Marisol is the picante Latina that speaks her mind and won't be silenced. Her yummy Spanish food is of course better than Otto's bland meat and potatoes diet. Director Marc Forster ( Monster's Ball , World War Z ) focuses on the differences that unite us. This was a winning theme in the source material and is successfully adapted here.

Tom Hanks Champions Inclusivity

A Man Called Otto enters culture war territory with subplots on gay and trans rights. The film has a political point and admittedly gets heavy-handed making its case. Otto, for all of his gruff faults, champions inclusivity. I know that in our divided times Hanks and Forster's approach will be criticized as agenda-driven. Art reflects life. Hanks political views are well-known and shouldn't surprise anyone walking in.

A Man Called Otto tackles suicide with a comedic touch. This is the most memorable and humorous part of the film. Depression can seem unsurmountable. There's no shame in accepting help. Everyone needs a hand after falling down.

A Man Called Otto is a production of Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, TSG Entertainment II, SF Studios, Artistic Films, and Playtone. It will have a limited theatrical release on December 30th, followed by national distribution on January 13th from Sony Pictures .

• Movie and TV Reviews
• A Man Called Otto (2023)

‘A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks Plays a Florid Grump

Hanks is well-cast as a misanthropic loner, but the film lacks the courage of his caustic conviction.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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Hanks harumphs with an irresistible self-justifying logic, and the clueless response on the part of the store’s millennial clerks, who are doing all they can to accommodate his tantrum, is the icing on the high-dudgeon cake. The secret weapon of a scene like this one is that even though Otto is overreacting like a jerk, in his petty and snappish way he’s sort of right. It should bother people, a little bit, that a corporation designs it so you can’t just buy five feet of rope.  

But David Magee, who wrote the script of “A Man Called Otto” (inspired by the 2015 Swedish film “A Man Called Ove”), and Marc Forster, who directed it, don’t have anything that witty in mind. The film starts off rooted in the real world but turns into a soft-headed “redemptive” fairy tale. Everything gets turned up a notch; even the potentially uproarious scene of Otto dishing out abuse to a hospital clown withers in the clown’s telegraphed overreaction. The movie is trying so hard to be a crowd-pleaser, in its reach-for-the-synthetic, sitcom-meets-Hallmark heart, that it will likely end up pleasing very few. It’s the definition of a movie that Tom Hanks deserved better than.      

Otto, in case you were wondering, plans to use that five feet of rope to kill himself. He’s still reeling from the recent death of his wife, and he intends to hang himself in his living room (from a hole he punches into the ceiling — a doomed plan or what?). I’ve never been crazy about botched-suicide comedy, going back to the prelude sequence of “Harold and Maude” (sorry, not a fan of that calculated cult ’70s quirkfest). The reason isn’t that I think it’s so scandalous but that it’s actually, under the surface, quite sentimental. The joke is always the same: that the suicides fail because the person… really wants to live . In this case, the idea that Hanks’ Otto has given up on life is a conceit the audience scarcely pretends to buy.

Otto occupies a condo in the same soothing blue prefab row-house development he has lived in ever since he married Sonya (Rachel Keller), the true love he first spotted on a Philadelphia train platform — she dropped her book! He picked it up and ran after her! All the way to the other side of the platform! — when he was a young man.

The film is threaded with flashbacks to their relationship, and they’re built on the potentially effective stunt casting of Truman Hanks, Hanks’s 27-year-old son, as the younger Otto, who came to Philly to enlist in the military, which turned into a doomed mission. Hanks’ acerbic actor son Colin has often seemed a chip off the old block, but Truman Hanks comes off as notably sweeter, softer, and more benign than his dad. In almost any movie you’d have to squint to buy him as the young Tom Hanks, but in this movie, where we have to believe that this angelic nerd evolves into a sharp-tongued malcontent, it’s far too jarring a leap.

In case all those don’t get to you, the movie makes a point of throwing in a transgender former student of Sonya’s, who’s there to demonstrate that Otto may grouse at the world but that he sees it entirely without prejudice. He’s a hater with a heart of gold. “A Man Called Otto” wants to lift our spirits, but the trouble with it is that the nicer Otto gets, the more naggingly fake the movie becomes. It should have been called “Florid-est Grump.”

Reviewed at AMC Lincoln Square, Dec. 16, 2022. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 126 MIN.

• Production: A Sony Pictures Entertainment release of a Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, SF Productions, Play-Tone production. Producers: Fredrik Wikström Nicastro, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman. Executive producers: Marc Forster, Renée Wolfe, Louise Rosner, David Magee, Michael Porseryd, Tim King, Sudie Smyth, Steven Shareshian, Celia Costas, Neda Backman, Tor Jonasson.
• Crew: Director: Marc Forster. Screenplay: David Magee. Camera: Mathuas Koenigswieser. Editor: Matt Chessé. Music: Thomas Newman.
• With: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Truman Hanks, Mike Birbiglia, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.  

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• DVD & Streaming

A Man Called Otto

• Comedy , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• January 6, 2023
• Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson; Mariana Treviño as Marisol; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Tommy; Cameron Britton as Jimmy; Mack Bayda as Malcolm; Rachel Keller as Sonya; Juanita Jennings as Anita; Peter Lawson Jones as Reuben; Truman Hanks as Young Otto Anderson; Kailey Hyman as Barb; Max Pavel as Andy; Christiana Montoya as Luna; Alessandra Perez as Abbie; Greg Allan Martin as Lucas; Kelly Lamor Wilson as Shari Kenzie

Home Release Date

• February 28, 2023
• Marc Forster

Distributor

• Columbia Pictures

Positive Elements   |   Spiritual Elements   |   Sexual & Romantic Content   |   Violent Content   |   Crude or Profane Language   |   Drug & Alcohol Content   |   Other Noteworthy Elements   | Conclusion

Movie Review

“ Idiots ,” Otto grumbles with every step he takes.

He makes his rounds through the neighborhood, grumbling at every mistake people around him make. How hard is it to put your parking pass on the rearview mirror, close the neighborhood gate or put your bike in the bike rack? He grouses.

As far as he’s concerned, the America that Otto knew is dying. No one knows how to fix anything anymore. A predatory real estate agent looks for ways to buy the neighborhood properties out from under people. And take just yesterday, when Otto tried to buy five feet of rope, and they told him he would still need to pay for six feet—because it’s policy to only charge by the yard.

All of the problems of the world are only accentuated by the passing of Otto’s wife, Sonya, six months before. If Otto were to think about it, she was the real reason why the world was so great. She gave Otto’s world color. Now that she’s gone, the whole world’s gone greyscale.

But today, that’s all going to change. Because using that purchased rope to craft a noose, Otto’s going to rejoin his wife. He steps up on his coffee table and prepares to slip his head through the hole.

Just then, Otto is interrupted by the sound of new neighbors Tommy and Marisol, backing their U-Haul over the curb and into their property. Apparently, no one knows how to parallel park with a trailer anymore.

Idiots . Otto can’t stand it. He slips the noose off his head and goes over to teach these neighbors how to do it properly. He can always get back to his suicidal plans later—if only these amicable and caring neighbors would stop appearing so frequently in his life.

Positive Elements

Otto longs for better days—days when Sonya was alive, people knew how to fix things, and everything was a bit simpler. Otto says of his deceased wife, there’s “nothing before or after” her.

But Otto’s fixation on the things of the past is an idol in his heart, and it’s dragging the elderly man down into a bitter depression. As the story unfolds, we’re warned about how making anything an idol in our lives can quickly ruin us.

Though Otto’s love for Sonya reminds us of the value of marriage, his idolization of his wife has made her a crutch for the aging man; when she passes, Otto must learn how to walk on his own once again. He hangs onto those former days, refusing to get rid of his wife’s coats, which still hang on the coat rack. But when young Marisol discovers Otto’s pain, she gently shows him how moving on is good for him, and how it won’t disrespect Sonya’s memory to do so.

Otto learns another important lesson: You can’t do everything alone. Though Otto thinks the world is nothing but “idiots,” Marisol shows him how it’s OK to get help from others—even if you may need to teach them a thing or two before they can help.

And as for Marisol and Tommy (as well as a couple other neighbors), they put up with Otto’s many bitter remarks in order to befriend him. Otto, for his part, does help his neighbors when asked, even if he isn’t the friendliest about it (though he would disagree—he was being friendly, he insists).

Spiritual Elements

Otto often speaks with Sonya at her grave, telling her of how he plans to meet her again soon.

[ Spoiler Warning ] During one of Otto’s suicide attempts, the ghost of his wife speaks to him, discouraging him from taking his life. Later, Otto eventually does pass away (from natural causes), and a minster leads his funeral service.

Sexual & Romantic Content

A prominent character named Malcolm is transgender. Malcolm’s father kicks him out for identifying in that way. Otto exclaims that anyone who disagrees with transgender ideology is “an idiot.”

A man wearing tight, revealing pants stretches, causing Otto to ask the man’s girlfriend if she can tell him to “stop stretching his groin in public.” A young Otto and Sonya kiss a couple times. Marisol and Tommy kiss, too.

Violent Content

There’s no getting around the central premise of the film: an elderly man who wants to kill himself to reunite with his wife in the afterlife. Otto’s initial attempt is followed by three more.

Otto hangs himself, but the hook snaps, causing him to collapse to the floor. He tries to take his life via carbon monoxide poisoning, but his neighbor interrupts him. He also stands in front of an oncoming train, but he is once again saved. Otto finally tries to shoot himself with a shotgun, but he is distracted, and the bullet instead fires into the ceiling.

Otto is quick to confront a couple people with violence. He assaults a hospital clown for not returning a personal memento. He also yanks someone from his truck after the man impatiently honks at him. And when a store employee asks if Otto needs help cutting rope, Otto asks if the employee is afraid that Otto may accidentally cut himself and bleed in the store.

A bus crashes, paralyzing a woman and causing a miscarriage. A man has a heart attack. A woman throws rocks at a stray cat.

Crude or Profane Language

The s-word is used four times. We also hear about a half-dozen instances each of “h—,” “b–tard” and “crap.” There are a couple uses of “b–ch,” “d–n,” “p-ss” and “pr-ck.” God’s name is used in vain 19 times, and two of those times are paired with “d–n.” And, of course, Otto calls pretty much everyone an “idiot.”

Drug & Alcohol Content

Otto brings a bottle of liquor to reconnect with a friend. The two never get around to opening it.

Other Noteworthy Elements

People film an elderly man who has fallen onto train tracks rather than helping him. Otto says a woman is “full of garbage.” A real estate agency gets illegal access to medical records in an effort to push elderly people out of their homes. A baby defecates. Otto is quite rude in most encounters.

It’s tough to move on from the loss of a loved one. Instead, Otto figures the easiest thing he can do is just to end his life and join his wife in the afterlife. But when friendly and insistent neighbors insist on growing closer to him, Otto’s sour opinion of life slowly begins to soften.

This film is remake of the 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove , which itself is based on Fredrik Backman’s 2012 novel of the same name. Throughout the movie, Tom Hanks’ Otto expresses his disgust at all the people who are ruining the world—namely, those who don’t know or care enough about how to fix things or follow rules.

And, if we’re being honest, there are a few things we’d wish A Man Called Otto would fix, too. For starters, the movie centers around a man attempting to commit suicide in a few different ways. In fact, even though this difficult subject is treated in a darkly humorous way, the film’s repeated depiction of it could still be potentially problematic for anyone who’s wrestled with this issue personally. On top of that, the movie also features quite a bit of crude language, and a prominent character is transgender.

Those content issues are deeply frustrating, because the film does provide a nice message regarding community and seeking help amid grief. But those redemptive themes come off a bit dull and muddled when clouded by the film’s bigger concerns.

Kennedy Unthank

Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”

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A Man Called Otto: An accurate reflection of life without purpose

Caution: I reveal several spoilers in this movie review.

Earlier this week, I saw the movie A Man Called Otto for the second time. It really resonates with me for several reasons, as I think it will with anyone over the age of 50 and, especially, those people who are retired.

Otto is an older man, played masterfully by Tom Hanks. He was pushed out of a job he enjoyed as a mechanical engineer. When Otto shows up for work one morning, the entire staff is gathered with a cake to wish him well. His co-workers couldn’t even wait until the end of the day to celebrate his departure.

That’s the first thing people over 50 have to realize. When they retire, they will be immediately forgotten. In fact, there are likely several people jockeying for their job, office, computer, desk chair, etc.

Otto’s boss tells everyone how much he will be missed. However, Otto responds by reminding the boss that, yes, he took the severance package when offered, but only because the company promoted a man Otto trained to be his direct supervisor.

That’s just like corporations today. We have interviewed people at Forward From 50 who have had to train their replacements long before they were ready to quit their jobs.

There is a celebratory cake decorated with an edible photo of Otto and wishing him well. To add insult to being pushed out of the job, a younger coworker cuts right through Otto’s face. It symbolizes how anxious the staff is to eliminate him from their midst.

Otto does what many other men would do. He simply turns around and walks out of the building.

Grumpy old man

Otto is not a happy man. There are several reasons for that. First, he lost the love of his life just six months earlier. She had been paralyzed from the waist down in a bus accident while the two of them were on vacation. The accident claimed the life of their unborn son. Another illness completely incapacitated his best friend, both physically and mentally.

There were plenty of reasons for Otto to be angry and feeling alone. He lost his family and he was losing his friends. Add the loss of his job to the mix, and Otto lacked purpose for his life.

Like most men in similar situations, when their lives lack purpose, then other people’s business becomes their business.

Otto made it his mission to ensure that everyone followed the rules in his neighborhood. He even chastised a UPS driver for parking a delivery van on the street without a permit. He yelled at a teen for littering because he dared deliver shopper-like newspapers on everyone’s front lawn.

He was the first person to shovel his walk after a snowstorm, but dared not shovel beyond his property. He was unkind to people, gruff and insulting. He lived alone and the pain of isolation robbed him of all joy. Although is wife had died months earlier, Otto had left her things hanging in the hallway and her blanket draped over their bed. He could not let her go.

No reason to live

Without a purpose for his life, Otto tried to end his several times. First, he tried hanging, but the weight of his body pulled the noose from the ceiling. Then he tried carbon monoxide poisoning, but frantic banging on his garage door by a neighbor needing to take her husband to the hospital, thwarted that plan.

Next, Otto was ready to throw himself in front of an oncoming train. But another older man fainted on the train platform and fell onto the tracks. That prompted Otto to jump down to save the injured man. Otto was pulled to safety himself with seconds to spare. He became a reluctant hero in the process.

Finally, Otto tried to end his life with a shotgun. However, a knock on the door by one of his wife’s former students who needed a place to stay, startled him, which caused the shots to strike the ceiling instead.

To me, a man of faith, each of Otto’s failed attempts to end his life demonstrated God’s power to carry out his plans by overruling ours when necessary to accomplish his will.

Renewed purpose

After determining he couldn’t even kill himself, Otto had a change of heart. He discovered there really was a purpose to his life. Through all his ordeals, he realized he could help:

• His wife’s former student get started on a better life.
• His former best friend’s wife fight a medical kidnapping and forced eviction.
• Help his neighbor learn to drive.
• Be a grandfather to three neighbor children.
• Care for a stray cat.

Although he never gave up enforcing rules and continued to “go on his rounds” every day, he served other people. Love returned to his heart and he brought clear value to their lives.

My key takeaways from this outstanding movie were:

• A purpose is essential for happiness and fulfillment for people over 50.
• Purpose must bring value to other people for it to have value to you.
• Enforcing rules may seem like a purpose, but it doesn’t help anyone. Therefore, it’s unfulfilling. It is only when whatever we do with our lives works to touch someone else in a positive way, that we realize our lives have genuine purpose.
• You must act on your dreams today because someday may never arrive. Life has a horrible way of disrupting our plans.
• Regardless of how painful your life has been or is today, someone else in your circle of influence likely needs help too. In fact, they may need it even more than you do.
• You don’t need money to impact the lives of others. Simply sharing your knowledge, skills, experience and attention can be a significant contribution.
• Being around children has a magical way of making us feel and act younger than we are.

I plan to buy this movie as soon as it’s available on March 14, 2023 . The movie is based on a 2012 book titled A Man Named Ove , which was written by Fredrick Bachman. I strongly encourage anyone over 50 to watch the film or read the book.

Here is the official trailer:

After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.

'A Man Called Otto’ Review: Tom Hanks Is a Grumpy Old Man in Tonally Awkward Adaptation

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Within the opening moments of A Man Called Otto , the second adaptation of Fredrik Backman ’s novel A Man Called Ove , you can see the problems inherent in this retelling. Otto Anderson ( Tom Hanks ) is a grumpy man in his 60s who we first see at a hardware store. He rudely tells the employee (played by Please Don't Destroy’s John Higgins ) that he would like to cut the length of rope he wants himself, then complains when he's overcharged pennies for what he is buying. The whole time, Thomas Newman 's quirky score hints at a jovial story underneath the crotchety man we see before us. After quickly visiting his retirement party and some prickly interactions with his neighbors, we discover that Otto bought this rope with the intention to hang himself in his living room.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who read the Backman book, or saw 2015's Swedish film adaptation of this story. But this version, from Christopher Robin and Finding Neverland director Marc Forster , handles the mixtures of comedy and drama in a peculiar and often bizarre way that both negates much of the emotional heft of the story, and sometimes leads to unintentional humor.

Otto is a man that is mad at the world. In addition to his frustrations with being asked to retire, Otto is constantly getting annoyed at the younger people he comes across on a daily basis, as well as the people who follow the arbitrary rules that he's placed on the neighborhood. But mostly, Otto is angry at the world because he no longer gets to live in it with his wife Sonya, who recently died. While visiting her grave, Otto states “nothing works when you're not at home," and for the gruff man who actually grumbles for people to get off his lawn, it’s clear he wants things to work exactly how he likes, and now, life can no longer be repaired in the way he needs it to be.

RELATED: Tom Hanks Plays Two Very Different Music Managers in ‘Elvis’ and ‘That Thing You Do!’

Otto’s plans to return to his wife, as he puts it, are paused when Marisol ( Mariana Treviño ) and her family move in to the neighborhood. Otto and Marisol strike up an unlikely friendship, and Otto begins to see the small joys in life as he helps his new neighbors.

Throughout A Man Called Otto , we also get to see Otto’s memories of when he was younger (played by Truman Hanks ) and getting to know Sonya ( Rachel Keller ). While it’s important that we see the beginnings of Otto and Sonya’s relationship, the eccentricities of Forster's approach become most apparent in these flashbacks. The relationship between Otto and Sonya feels more like the bond between a brother and sister, and while the younger Otto seems like he might be on the spectrum, we never get much of an inclination that that is also the case with the older Otto.

These flashbacks are also intended to be some of the most powerful moments within the film, and yet, the way Forster brings them to life is peculiar and undercuts their potential. For example, these moments often come when Otto is attempting suicide, and Forster’s decision to go back-and-forth between these youthful moments and Otto trying to take his own life is truly unusual. Plus, the film's heavy-handed choices in songs are at their worst in these moments, as these egregious choices are distractingly bad, and these scenes would be far more effective had they been excised altogether.

The screenplay from David Magee , who previously collaborated with Forster on Finding Neverland , and this year alone has written The School for Good and Evil and Lady Chatterly’s Lover , has its heart in the right place, but the attempts to make the audience cry are blunt and too obvious. A Man Called Otto also almost feels like it's part of an exaggerated version of our world, where the young folks are almost always wrong, and things aren't as good as they used to be "back in my day.” At one point, an older man falls on a train track, and Otto jumps down to retrieve him. The other younger people waiting on the train, however, are more focused on filming the incident and getting the right angle on the old man than actually helping. It’s just one of a few silly details that break the humanity that Magee is attempting to cultivate in this story. Magee has proven a deft hand with slow-burn films that make the waterworks come eventually, like with Finding Neverland and Life of Pi , but the somewhat awkward performances of the younger Otto and Sonya, mixed with the extremely questionable music choices undercuts what is primarily a story about a man falling in love with life again.

A Man Called Otto also comes at the end of one of Hanks' weirdest years, which has seen him play Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann ’s Elvis , and take on the role of Geppetto in Robert Zemeckis ' nightmarish Pinocchio update. A Man Called Otto is certainly a better example of Hanks’ gifts, however, as no matter how cantankerous Otto gets, we still love the guy because it’s Tom Hanks . Yet Hanks doesn’t shy away from the darker moments, as we believe that Otto truly has lost the will to live, and especially the moments where he visits his wife’s grave and talks about how she's coming to her soon are heartbreaking because of Hanks’ performance.

But despite the name, the real star of A Man Called Otto is Treviño as Marisol, who right away doesn't put up with Otto’s crap and handles him with both sternness and love—the way Sonya also did. From the moment Treviño appears in the film, we can feel her warmth for Otto and the entire community she is now a part of. Through her role, we see how found families can be just as important as real family, and how through experiences with others, those we've lost can still live on in a way. Naturally, A Man Called Otto is at its best when the coldness of Otto and the love of Marisol play off each other, as we watch this friendship blossom.

Especially compared to the 2015 adaptation, A Man Called Otto is a clunky update that often feels like it's full of cartoonish characters, with poor music choices, and cloying sentimentality. But when Forster and Magee pull away from these eccentricities, the story of Otto and Marisol is often a thing of beauty, and wonderful friendship that is lovely to watch grow. It’s easy when watching A Man Called Otto to feel like Otto: frustrated by most of what's going on, but with brief glimmers of the beauty within the world around you.

A Man Called Otto comes to theaters in limited release starting on December 30, followed by a wider release on January 13, 2023.

• Movie Reviews

A Man Called Otto: Is the Movie Inspired by a True Story?

Directed by Marc Forster, ‘A Man Called Otto’ is a comedy-drama movie that engagingly blends humor and emotions. After 40 years of working at the same job, Otto Anderson is forced to retire at 60. Extremely unhappy about the situation, the grumpy man resolves to end his life. However, whenever he decides to go through with his schemes, his neighbor Marisol and her family unintentionally interrupt him. Despite his initial annoyance, Otto builds a genuine connection with new people, sparking his zeal for life.

Starring Tom Hanks in the titular role, the film is littered with comedic punches that make the otherwise heartbreaking story even more engaging. The trajectory of the protagonist’s life is full of various ups and downs that allow viewers to understand how he became the way he is. This has led many to wonder if real-life events inspire the movie and if Otto is based on a real person. Let’s explore the same together, shall we?

A Man Called Otto’s Origins

No, ‘A Man Called Otto’ is not based on a true story. Instead, it is an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s novel called ‘A Man Called Ove,’ AKA ‘En Man Som Heter Ove.’ The book was first released in Sweden in 2012 and later translated into English. Just 18 months after its initial publication, it became part of the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed there for 42 weeks. Most readers who have come across the story could not help but be captivated by the tone of the story and how it flows to create the captivating journey of a man called Ove.

While Backman created almost every element of the story, the idea to write a story about a grumpy man called Ove came to the Swedish author thanks to an interesting anecdote. When he was working as a freelance writer for Cafe, a Swedish magazine, a coworker of his wrote about an incident involving a man named Ove. The latter was trying to buy a ticket for an art museum and was getting quite angry until his wife intervened and helped mitigate the situation.

“My wife read the blog post and said, ‘This is what life is like with you,’” Backman told The New York Times . “I’m not very socially competent. I’m not great at talking to people. My wife tends to say, ‘your volume is always at 1 or 11, never in between.’” This prompted the freelance writer to pen down his pet peeves and temper-related incidents. All these were published as blog posts for Cafe under the title “I Am a Man Called Ove.”

Gradually, Backman realized that he had the blueprint for a character that would keep the readers hooked. Building upon the idea, the Swedish author continued to work on the novel, basing the protagonist on himself. “There’s a lot of me in him,” he explained while talking about similarities between himself and Ove. “When we get angry, it’s about a principle, and we get angry because people don’t understand why we’re angry.” Despite initial rejections, the story became a favorite among the masses and provided BAckman with immense fame.

In 2015, Backman’s novel was adapted into a Swedish movie called ‘A Man Called Ove,’ with Rolf Lassgård essaying the role of Ove Lindahl. The film gained much praise from the general public and was even nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film prize at the 89th Academy Awards. Nearly nine years after the release of Backman’s novel, its English adaptation premiered on the silver screen. In Mark Forster’s adaptation of the book, several key elements have been changed to compensate for a larger English-speaking audience.

The Tom Hanks starrer is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and most characters are based in the region. Hence, the protagonist’s name is changed to Otto Anderson from its novel counterpart for similar reasons. However, the essence of the story remains the same, and most of the elements crafted by Backman are conveyed in the Marc Forster directorial. Interestingly, the film also features Truman Hanks, Tom’s youngest son, in the role of a younger Otto.

According to the ‘ Forrest Gump ‘ star, the resemblance between them is uncanny, making Truman the ideal candidate for the job, even though the latter seems to prefer remaining behind the cameras. Despite ‘A Man Called Otto’ being the fictional tale of an imaginary character, it can be considered a reflection of real life. Most of the protagonist’s quirks and issues are seemingly inspired by Backman’s own life, providing ample realism to the story.

Additionally, the concepts of grief and found family addressed in the narrative give viewers an emotional connection to the story. Amidst the comedic nature of the movie, Otto’s pain and anger make him a character that many cannot help but root for throughout the story.

Read More: Where Was A Man Called Otto Filmed?

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Review Film " A Man Called Otto "

A Man Called Otto Adalah film drama komedi pada tahun 2022 yang disutradarai oleh Marc Forster dari naskah karya David Magee. Ternyata film ini merupakan film adaptasi kedua dari novel tahun 2012 A Man Called Ove karya Fredrik Backman. Film ini dibintangi oleh Tom Hanks Bersama dengan Mariana Trevino, Rachel Keller, Manuel Gracia-Rulfo, dan actor lainnya.

Tak hanya menyajikan cerita komedi, series ini juga menyajikan sisi komedi, melodrama sampai slice of life nya juga. Film yang berdurasi 2 jam 6 menit ini berkisah tentang laki laki tua pemarah Bernama Otto Anderson yang tinggal sendiri. Pada suatu hari, di perumahan yang tempatnya sama dengan Otto tinggal kedatangan penghuni baru di rumah yang bersebrangan dengan Otto. Otto memiliki kepribadian yang gila terhadap ketertiban dan ketenangan yang pada awalnya acuh terhadap kehadiran tetangga barunya, ia mulai merasa terganggu. Namun disisi lain, tetangga barunya tetap berusaha akrab kepada Otto.

A Man Called Otto menghadirkan kisah yang ringan namun begitu nyata dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Tom Hanks berperan sebagai Otto, seorang laki-laki lansia yang hidup seorang diri setelah istrinya meninggal. Akibat sifatnya yang pemarah dan perfeksionis, Otto hadir sebagai tetangga yang menyebalkan di perumahannya. Namun, keadaan mulai berubah ketika Marisol dan Tommy hadir sebagai tetangga barunya Otto.

Selain komedi, A Man Called Otto menampilkan elmen drama yang cukup kuat. Dibalik interaksi Otto dengan Marisol yang lucu, perbedaan sifat keduanya menimbulkan konflik, yang pada akhirnya mengulik kisah masa lalu Otto yang begitu menyedihkan. Otto yang begitu mencintai istrinya jelas begitu terpukul dengan kematian istrinya. Otto pun jadi semakin pemarah, semakin menyebalkan, dan kehilangan semangat hidup karena dia belum bisa move on dari kematian istrinya. Akibat sikapnya yang semakin menjengkelkan, orang-orang di sekitar Otto jadi tidak menyadari bahwa Otto sudah dalam tahap depresi.

Melalui tema depresif tersebut, A Man Called Otto sebenarnya memiliki pesan mendalam tentang bagaimana orang harus saling peduli satu sama lain untuk bisa menyelamatkan seseorang yang sudah kehilangan semangat hidup. Karakter Marisol hadir sebagai perwujudan rasa peduli yang seharusnya ada di kehidupan bersosialisasi. Jika Marisol tidak hadir sebagai tetangga yang begitu peduli, mungkin hidup Otto bakal berakhir tragis.

Kelebihan :

Aktingnya Hanks di A Man Called Otto tidak perlu diragukan lagi. Dia berhasil membuat penonton bisa merasakan kesedihan mendalamnya Otto atas kematian istrinya, walaupun pada awalnya karakter Otto begitu menyebalkan kepada karakter lainnya.

Namun, ada aktor lain yang penampilannya patut diapresiasi pada film ini, yaitu Mariana Trevino, yang berperan sebagai Marisol. Aktris tersebut berhasil membuat Marisol menjadi karakter yang begitu mudah dicintai oleh penonton. Trevino juga berhasil membangun chemistry yang begitu baik dengan Hanks, sehingga membuat setiap interaksi antara Otto dan Marisol terlihat begitu menyenangkan dan begitu mengharukan.

Penataan alur pada film A Man Called Otto sukses membuat penonton terpukau, dengan kisah masa lalu Otto yang menikam hati penonton sehingga mampu meloloskan air mata yang terbendung. Pada film ini mampu menggugah pikiran dan emosi manusia.

Kekurangan :

Beberapa menit diawal film terkesan membosankan karna menunjukan keseharian Otto yang sama seperti beberapa hari sebelumnya, dan juga menampilkan konflik antara Otto dengan penghuni lainnya.

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