A Man Called Otto, Dir. Marc Forster, 2022, 126 mins, HD
It’s so easy to dismiss life-affirming comedy-dramas such as this as just being, well, inconsequential fluff, and it wouldn’t be far wrong either, but really, what’s wrong with that anyway? Don’t we sometimes need simple films with a positive message, and indeed, maybe need them now more than ever?
A Man Called Otto is based on a Swedish film and its likely very true that the original is far superior, these things usually are. American versions of European cinema invariably dumb things down, and it can often be because of Hollywood A-list talent (in this case Tom Hanks) hijacking a ‘sure thing’ and losing what made the original so special. I can’t comment on the original here because I haven’t seen it.
It’s easy to think of Tom Hanks as being this generation’s James Stewart, which in this case suggests he is perfectly cast in a film that feels very much akin to Frank Capra’s classic Its a Wonderful Life. Largely, the casting works- Hanks is very good here but I think he’s undone by his screen persona cultivated by so many films now, its like baggage he could do without. Its not something I’ve really thought about before, but maybe that’s true for many actors as they become veterans of their craft with a big filmography behind them. Like the chains of old Marley’s ghost or something., weighing them down.
Hanks plays the titular Otto, a grumpy old bastard who’s had enough of life and the idiots that he perceives surround him. As Otto reacts to a new family which moves into the building across the street from his home, he reflects on his life and we learn his back story (in flashbacks featuring Hank’s real-life son Truman playing the young Otto), and what made him the crusty old bugger he has become. The trouble is, Otto’s ‘journey’ in this film might have worked better had Otto been, well, more… piss and vinegar; less likeable. We know that Otto is decent, admirable, misunderstood by his neighbours, simply because, well, he’s Tom Hanks. He might grumble a lot, but he’s really decent underneath and will do the right thing by everyone because, well, he’s Tom. He always comes good.
the ghost of 82 