A Man Called Otto – Film Review

When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down.

The advertising for Marc Forster‘s A Man Named Otto seems to promote the idea that the movie is really clean, upbeat, and charming, but in reality, it’s an exceptionally serious drama that deals with a lot of intense subjects that audiences won’t anticipate.

Does it occasionally contain tidbits of humour, intelligence, and goodness? It does, indeed. Yet the main focus of this film is on a man who is regarded as the world’s biggest grump and who, after the passing of his beloved wife, is striving to learn how to be a better person and how to live in this world.

Only six months have gone since his wife’s cancer-related death, and he is completely confused about what to do with himself at this point. In the movie, there will occasionally be flashbacks to when the two first met as well as scenes of them as a married couple at home, striving to enjoy life to the fullest.

When you realize how much Otto is suffering, these situations become extremely tragic. We can see that the main character has a kind soul and is, deep down, a lovely person, despite the fact that he can occasionally be a huge grump and a little bit harsh with people.

This is also known to his neighbours. Even though they enjoy making fun of his attitude, they are aware that Otto would go over and above to assist someone. Early on, there is an amazing scene where Otto’s new neighbours are coming in and are attempting to parallel park their car, but they are having trouble.

Otto tells them to exit the vehicle so he can assist them rather than watching them struggle with it for hours. He had to do this for them, is he upset about it? Oh, yes. He does, however, also wish to assist them out of pure desire. Otto is a fantastic character, and it was fun to see how he interacted with the people in his life.

And truly, only Tom Hanks could have performed this part as well as he did. He is immensely enthralling as Otto, and he greatly enhances the likeability of the character. Otto might not have been nearly as lovable if Hanks had not played the role, and it’s hard not to smile anytime he appears on screen.

Although the two hours and six minutes long movie occasionally feels a little drawn out, for the most part, it is a well-paced film that understands when to pause and concentrate on a character beat to further elicit tears. It’s a powerful movie that will make you value life a little bit more, and that is just so lovely.

A Man Called Otto is a shockingly dark exploration of grief while also serving as an optimistic look at all of life’s ups and downs, further accentuated by a terrific leading performance from Tom Hanks.