A Man Called Otto

Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Truman Hanks, Manuel García-Rulfo, Mike Birbiglia, Cameron Britton, Mack Bayda, Juanita Jennings, Peter Lawson Jones, Kelly Lamor Wilson 
Running Time: 126 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)    

Despite the Oscars, affability and success, Tom Hanks still strangely faces a certain degree of skepticism when taking roles that clash with his nice guy reputation as the modern day Jimmy Stewart. Having consistently impressed in all kinds of dramatic parts, there's a nagging belief among critics and audiences that he can't really go anywhere too dark. Even the mere suggestion elicits groans, as if even his most ardent fans don't want him traveling too far outside that perceived comfort zone.  

In Marc Forster's A Man Called Otto, Hanks tackles the type of ornery, irascible character Jack Nicholson perfected in As Good As it Gets and About Schmidt, prompting those overly familiar complaints about his miscasting. It's based on the acclaimed 2015 Swedish film A Man Called Ove, and while it's a leap to call this material dark, it does take steps forward in challenging those unfair preconceptions. While giving Hanks something more somber, it still manages to deliver the feel good, tug-at-the-heartstrings project viewers have come to expect from him. More importantly, it's done well, which wasn't a lock considering the depressing territory it navigates in between laughs.

Otto Anderson (Hanks) is a 63-year-old recent widower living outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who lost his schoolteacher wife Sonya six months earlier and has just been pushed into retirement at his steel company job. A grumpy curmudgeon constantly complaining about the most trivial of inconveniences, he's irked by anything and anyone in the neighborhood. No longer seeing a reason to live, he plans to hang himself, until being interrupted by the arrival of friendly new neighbors Marisol (Mariana Treviño), Tommy (Manuel García-Rulfo) and their two young daughters Abby (Alessandra Perez) and Luna (Christiana Montoya). 

Marisol slowly punctures holes in Otto's icy exterior, but he still has a bone to pick with neighbor Anita (Juanita Jennings) and her husband Reuben (Peter Lawson Jones), an unresponsive stroke survivor who he fell out with years ago. But more justifiable is his disdain for the hilariously named real estate company, Dye & Merica, whose agent (Mike Birbiglia) is scoping the area to build high-priced condos. As Otto begrudgingly grows closer to Marisol's family and recommits to protecting his neighborhood, he's forced to confront the reality of a future without Sonya.

The central idea of not really knowing who lives next door makes Hanks' casting hit differently now than it would even just a few years earlier. David Magee's script capitalizes on society's increased cynicism, realizing it's hardly a stretch to imagine your neighbor isn't nearly as warm as you assumed from afar. That's why having Hanks in the role is so effective, causing us to question whether Otto was always this much of a jerk or it's entirely a reaction his wife's passing. Going out of his way to avoid meaningful interaction extending beyond snide, fleeting criticisms, many tolerate his hostility to a point knowing the circumstances. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the film contains more suicide attempts than Harold and Maude, only with a protagonist actually intending to do it. Or maybe not, given how many times he fails, knowing it's not what his late spouse would want. We get that much from the flashbacks that precede them, accomplishing exactly what's necessary in informing the present day narrative. It's also highlighted by two terrific performances, the first of which comes from Hanks' own son Truman Hanks, who as young Otto perfectly channels a more awkward version of his famous dad opposite an enchanting Rachel Keller as Sonya. In just a handful of minutes, these scenes go a long way in making us understand why present-day Otto is so helplessly devastated. 

All of that certainly plays better than a distracting, extremely awkward de-aging scene that chronicles Otto's long-standing grudge against old pal Reuben. Even while the story works at conveying the former's stubbornness over silly issues, the poor special effects undo it. Luckily, it's a minor quibble, as most everything else succeeds and comes together nicely by the end, which isn't a small feat considering the quantity of plot.

Aside from neighborly feuds, clingy stray cats and unauthorized medical records access, separate side stories involving a social media journalist (Kelly Lamor Wilson) and a local transgender teen (Mack Bayda) manage to come together with reasonable payoffs. There's also some humorous character work from actors like Birbiglia as the real estate rep and Cameron Britton as an exercise obsessed neighbor. But it's Mariana Treviño who steals every scene she shares with Hanks, never crossing the line into irritatingly maudlin when connecting with this crank and slowly bringing him out of his sad shell.

That A Man Called Otto delivers what's expected from its trailers and commercials isn't necessarily a negative here, especially when adult mainstream movies about people struggling with real problems continue to search for an audience. This found one and it's easy to see why. You don't walk away feeling cheated by the experience, as Forster keeps the material from coming across too cloying or manipulative. Whether it'll be remembered or discussed beyond the end credits is a trickier question, but as somewhat of an outlier in Hanks' filmography, it doesn't disappoint.