Review | A Man Called Otto movie review: Tom Hanks plays the grumpiest man in America in Hollywood remake of Swedish hit A Man Called Ove
- Otto is a depressed widower who views everyone in his world as an ‘idiot’ and growls his displeasure at those who get in his way
- Gradually, there is a thawing in Otto’s behaviour, as various elements – including a stray cat – give him reason to live and interact with others
3/5 stars
Otto is a widower whose wife died not so long ago. He has been sidelined at work and has taken early retirement, but that seems to be the least of his issues. Everyone in Otto’s world is a “nitwit” or an “idiot” and he spends much of the film growling his displeasure at those who get in his way.
Every day, he marches round his neighbourhood, picking out cans and bottles from the recycling that have been put in the wrong slots, or moaning at delivery drivers who try to park without a permit.
Beneath this curmudgeonly behaviour, however, he is depressed – so depressed that he tries more than once to take his own life, albeit with little success. First, the rope he attaches to the ceiling snaps; later, he is interrupted by his new neighbour (Mariana Trevino) when he tries to suffocate himself in car exhaust fumes in his garage.
