TW: Mentions of Suicide
Some spoilers ahead;
Being the Tom Hanks fan that I am. I watched his latest film, ‘A Man Called Otto’, on Netflix. The film is based on a book called ‘A man called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman. This movie left me in turmoil of emotions. One moment, I was sad. The other moment I cracked up, and then I was weeping. This movie has my heart. It was just so beautiful. Tom Hanks, in wholesome movies, has a separate fanbase and as Otto, he delivers.
Plot:
Otto is a cranky old man who hates basically everything and everyone and is trying to end his life; he is interrupted several times by his over-the-top, extremely loud and vivacious neighbours. That’s how the movie begins and later tells the story of Otto, who’s grieving the death of his wife. He forms new bonds and has a lot of wholesome moments. First, there’s a flashback where Otto’s unborn son died in a bus accident, and his wife was heavily injured. The couple grieved their son, and then in the present day, Otto’s neighbour gives birth to a child who’s a baby boy, and Otto holds him for the first time and gives him the cradle he made for his unborn son. This scene had me in tears.
There are so many more beautiful moments throughout the film. It turns out that Otto just had the exterior of a cranky, bitter old man. He was a softy inside who was angry that his wife was taken away from him.
A man called Otto is the story of a man who lost all hope in life, and Tom Hanks brilliantly portrays that. All of these attempts at taking his life will leave you in tears, and you’ll have a constant urge to make him stop.
The movie is a delightful comedy-drama full of joy and hilarity but has profound moments of heartfelt emotion. Tom Hanks gives a fantastic performance as Otto, highlighting his comedic range while also demonstrating the deep emotional depths of a man attempting to find companionship in a world that doesn’t conform to his elevated expectations and his obsession with rules.
The best part of the film is that even as a grumpy old man who hates everyone, it’s Tom Hanks who’s literally the embodiment of love, and you keep waiting for the part where he makes it right and when he does all you do is sit back and smile because oh boy.
The film also provided a reality check of how much we need to value love and life when presented to us, as one can not predict any events as they ultimately unfold. Otto befriending his neighbours and adopting the cat signifies how he’s embracing the love he is getting, maybe unknowingly, which is one of the best decisions he makes for himself.
By the end of the film, when his neighbour tells him sorry for the parked cars at his gate, which he hated throughout the film, he tells her it’s not an issue as it no longer bothers him. He is no longer the Otto who was hurting and had completely shut him off from the world.
Do you know one of those movies you return to when you’re feeling low, those wholesome movies that feel like home? A man called Otto would be just that to me. Tom Hanks has done it again, and how. A man called Otto is a must-watch if you love cinemas that make you smile and leave an imprint on you. It’s a 10/10 for me. A man called Otto just couldn’t have been any better!