A Man Called Otto
Sony Pictures RisingMarc Forster’s A Man Called Otto resurrects the old trend of nearly shot-for-shot American movie remakes of international films to seemingly confirm that Americans are too lazy to overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles that they must translate the whole thing with an American actor in the lead and an American spin to the mix. Hannes Holm’s A Man Called Ove was one of the biggest surprises of 2016 with both a gut-bustlingly hilarious and life-affirming story. Marc Forster’s remake follows pretty much the same template as Holm’s original but doesn’t possess the same charm or moving quality of that film.
Perhaps it’s because the story of a crank who ultimately has a change of heart and learns to appreciate life by the time the movie is over has been done one too many times in American films that A Man Called Otto falls flat as soon as it begins. Forster and screenwriter David Magee follow the template without much surprise — Hanks’ Otto is a bitter old man attempting to kill himself to join his wife Sonya (Rachel Keller), who passed away a few months ago. But every time he attempts suicide, he is interrupted by neighbors who don’t understand basic rules, or new people in desperate need of help, like Marisol (Mariana Treviño) and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who have moved in front of Otto’s house.
For the first time since Sonya’s passing, Otto will open himself to Marisol and learn to be better around other human beings as he begins to, predictably, have the will to live again until his time is truly up. Audiences who haven’t seen A Man Called Ove may think of this film as a heartfelt journey through one man’s attempt to move on from massive grief. There are instances in which the film deals with brutal scenes thoughtfully, most notably during flashback scenes in which one of Hanks’ children, Truman, plays a younger Otto (disregard the scene with a de-aged Hanks that looks like Uncanny Valley-type stuff), alongside Rachel Keller.
Keller has always been a compelling actor to watch in shows like Fargo, Legion, and even Tokyo Vice, and she brings a great deal of emotional weight to the movie that wouldn’t have been possible without anyone else playing Sonya. Some of those scenes are hard to watch, but they’re always handled with care, compared with how Forster depicts suicide as a comedic device. Of course, this was done in the original film, but the tone shift is far more jarring in the remake than in the original because of how Forster integrates flashbacks of Otto’s life, as if life is flashing before his eyes, as he is attempting to hang, choke, and even shoot himself throughout the film. As always, he gets interrupted, and it’s played for comedic effect. Even his postures as he is about to end his laughs are played for laughs, and the awkward shifts in tone don’t help.
Hanks plays Otto with enough earnestness to make his grumps feel honest and human and his tender moments feel like good character progression. He always grounds his moral plights in reality. There’s never a moment where the audience doesn’t believe that Otto doesn’t exist. Everyone at least knows one person who needs more affection in their lives and should stop being so close-minded to people around them. It’s not his best performance of 2022, Colonel Tom Parker remains an all-timer turn for Hanks, but it’s one where he grounds himself the most and allows his natural brand of charm to do the trick.
And it’s solely because of Hanks’ lead performance, and a strong emotional core anchored by Keller’s supporting turn that A Man Called Otto works admirably well. It’s too familiar for its own good, especially if A Man Called Ove was watched beforehand, but it feels even more formulaic in how it follows the template of “bitter old man who has a change of heart” movies that America keeps churning out every now and then. But there are worse American remakes than A Man Called Otto, 2007’s Funny Games for example, which makes this film less egregious than others.