Review: A Man Called Otto is the story of life

The storyline is simple – it is the story of a man fed up with life. It is the story of a man who catches a glimpse of life

Hyderabad: One can be sure to expect at least one common factor in a film starring the legendary Tom Hanks – commitment. Be it drama, be it comedy, or a combination of both in A Man Called Otto.

To the uninitiated, it is a remake of the Swedish film A Man Called Ove based on a novel of the same name by Fredrik Backman. The storyline is simple – it is the story of a man fed up with life. It is the story of a man who catches a glimpse of life. It is the story of life.

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We have the hexagenarian widower Otto (Tom Hanks) who is uncharacteristically abrasive. He must micromanage everything in his street – how to parallel park, how a dishwasher must be maintained and who comes and who goes. He is fed up with his life.

The reason – he is retired and has lost his wife Sonya. On the verge of his first suicide attempt, he is interrupted by his new neighbours: Marisol (Mariana Treviño), and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and their two daughters, Abby (Alessandra Perez) and Luna (Christiana Montoya).

Rewind to a flashback where Young Otto (Truman Hanks) tries to enlist but is rejected because of his heart condition. He meets Sonya (Rachel Keller) on a train back. Fast forward to suicide number 2.

He has a flashback of Sonya kissing him after the younger Otto tells her that he was rejected from the army for his heart condition. During such a failed attempt, he saves an old man who faints on a railway track. The video of his rescue is viral. Otto’s each attempt at suicide is a failure and shows a glimpse of his earlier life. He soon has a feline as a pet that he earlier thought was a nuisance. The rest of the story is about whether Otto accepts life or does he succeed in ending it.

Director Marc Forster does his best to ensure that this film is as good as the original. The only drawback of the 126 minute outing is Truman, in comparison to the others. He has a big name to live up to both on and off screen. Playing a younger Tom Hanks is not easy. The flashbacks form an essential part of the storyline in portraying the character of Otto. They show that he was not always an anti-people person. He was socially awkward but was pleasant. Mack Bayda playing Malcolm, a transperson gives that low blow and makes sure you carry a heavy heart. Peter Lawson Jones and Juanita Jennings as Otto’s estranged friends Rueben and Anita are adequate.

The film belongs to Tom Hanks, and he delivers. He ensures the right amount of emotion quotient is on display. Be it while interacting with Malcolm, while taking in a stray feline or while shouting at a representative of a real estate agency, he is spot on. Sophisticated and yet unsophisticated at the same time. Tom Hanks dominates so much that there are times when you miss him on the screen.

Go for the man!