7. A Man Called Otto; movie review

 

A MAN CALLED OTTO

Cert 15

126 mins

BBFC advice: Contains suicide theme

I laughed and then the tears streamed down my cheeks. Yes, Tom Hanks has done it again.

It is possible that A Man Called Otto will not work with every age group but it absolutely struck a chord with this nearly 60-year-old.

Director Marc Forster deserves particular congratulation because he has taken an Oscar-nominated Swedish film and made it even better.

Eight years ago, I wrote that A Man Called Ove "nails loneliness, bereavement and the quirks of late middle age within the same character. This is a movie in which there are belly laughs combined with real sadness."

Ditto this new version which becomes even more appealing thanks to the wonderful contribution of Mariana Treviño.

She plays the exuberant new neighbour of curmudgeon Otto Anderson - a man who is an absolute stickler for the rules.

Initially, Otto spurns the attempts by her and her clumsy husband (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) to be friends, preferring privacy in his grief over his departed wife.

But they are akin to bulls in a china shop and are determined to wear him down.

The theme and story outline of A Man Called Otto are not too promising but its execution is spot-on.

For example, it addresses the very heavy subjects of bereavement, attempted suicide, gender dysphoria, and Alzheimer's Disease poignantly but not so that the film is slowed down.

This could not be done without the guile of Hanks who is an inspired choice as the title character.

Meanwhile, Otto's back story is also played out with Hanks' son Truman as his younger self and Rachel Keller as his wife Sonya.

Forster's film pulls at the heart in ways that I least expected but it is far from a conventional weepy - indeed, one chap at Nottingham Cineworld must have belly-laughed 20 times.

Yes, I loved it.

Reasons to watch: A beautiful blend of pathos and comedy

Reasons to avoid: Some might think it is one-paced

Laughs: Four

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? Tom Hanks, who narrated National Geographic’s 2013 historical drama Killing Lincoln, boasts ancestral ties to the 16th president of the United States through Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks.

The final word. Marc Forster: "I think A Man Called Otto is a heartwarming and humorous movie, and, hopefully, people will go and experience these themes in a movie theatre because it’s a story about a community coming together. That is what gives Otto purpose and I think you can go with your grandmother, with your kids and with your friends." The Digital Fix

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