A Man Called Otto

''A Man Called Otto'' is a 2022 comedy-drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by David Magee. It is the second film adaptation of the 2012 novel '' A Man Called Ove'' by Fredrik Backman, and an American remake of the 2015 Swedish film of the same name written and directed by Hannes Holm. The film stars Tom Hanks in the title role, with Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo.

''A Man Called Otto'' began a limited theatrical release on December 30, 2022, before a wide release in the United States on January 13, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $36 million worldwide.

Plot

Otto Anderson, a 63-year-old widower, lives in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After retiring from a steel company, he plans suicide, having lost his wife Sonya, a schoolteacher, six months previously.

During a suicide attempt by hanging, he is interrupted by his new neighbors: Marisol, Tommy, and their two daughters, Abbie and Luna. Otto has flashbacks to his past; years previously he tried to enlist in the military but was unable due to having hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He meets Sonya on a train after returning a dropped book to her.

Otto attempts suicide again, this time via carbon monoxide poisoning. He experiences a flashback of him having dinner with Sonya, confessing to her that he is not enlisted in the army due to his heart condition and doesn’t have a job, making Sonya kiss Otto. Marisol disrupts Otto’s suicide attempt, asking him to take her and the kids to the hospital after Tommy fell and broke his leg using a ladder that Otto lent to him. He reluctantly agrees.

Otto has a flashback to his graduation with an engineering degree, when he asked Sonya to marry him. During a suicide attempt by train, an old man faints and falls on the railroad tracks. Otto saves the man and the incident becomes a viral. Otto then takes in a stray cat, which he had found to be an annoyance. Otto takes Marisol for a driving lesson and they visit Sonya's favorite bakery, which the couple formerly frequented every weekend. There, he tells her about his friendship with Reuben, the two having worked together to establish rules and order, with Otto as chairman of the neighborhood association board. The two grew apart after Reuben's preference for Fords and Toyotas over Otto's Chevrolets and the "coup" of replacing Otto as chairman. Reuben, who suffered a stroke, is now confined to a wheelchair and is cared for by his wife Anita and neighbor Jimmy.

A local transgender teen, Malcolm, recognizes Otto as Sonya's husband while delivering newspapers and circulars in the neighborhood. Malcolm cuts through Otto's disgruntlement at receipt of the newspapers when he recognizes Otto as "Mr Anderson" and recounts that Sonya was his teacher and one of the few people who accepted him as he was. A friendship forms between the pair and Otto fixes Malcolm's bicycle. After dodging a social media journalist who is attempting to interview Otto in relation to the earlier viral video, he gets angry at both Marisol and a Dye & Merica real estate agent, not wanting to come to terms with Sonya’s death. He attempts to commit suicide by shotgun, but is interrupted by Malcolm, who asks to spend the night after his father kicked him out.

Otto learns that Dye & Merica is planning to force Reuben into a nursing home and take their house, after illegally finding out that Anita was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Otto agrees to help Anita and Reuben. Marisol refuses to assist Otto until he tells her that he and Sonya went to Niagara Falls to celebrate having their first pregnancy. On their way back home, the bus crashed due to faulty brakes, resulting in Sonya being paralyzed and having a miscarriage. The neighborhood was not handicapped accessible to Sonya and Otto was voted out of the chairmanship after having a heated confrontation with a Dye & Merica representative. Otto wanted to put all of the real estate companies out of business but decided against it to care for Sonya. With the help of the neighborhood and the social media journalist, Reuben and Anita are able to keep their home.

Otto collapses and is taken to the hospital, where he lists Marisol as his next of kin. After being told by a cardiologist that Otto’s heart is too big, she laughs, before going into labor, giving birth to a son. Otto gives his old car to Malcolm and takes Marisol and her kids for a drive in a new truck. Years pass and Otto becomes good friends with Marisol and her family.

One day, Tommy notices that Otto didn’t shovel the snow on his walkway. Marisol and Tommy enter Otto's house to find him dead, having succumbed to his enlarged heart. A funeral is held, attended by his neighbors. In a letter to Marisol, Otto says that his lawyer will give her his bank accounts, providing them with enough money to take care of her family, as well as giving his new truck and his house to her.

Cast

* Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson
** Truman Hanks as young Otto Anderson
* Mariana Treviño as Marisol
* Rachel Keller as Sonya
* Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Tommy
* Cameron Britton as Jimmy
* Mack Bayda as Malcolm
* Juanita Jennings as Anita
** Emonie Ellison as young Anita
* Peter Lawson Jones as Reuben
** Laval Schley as young Reuben
* Christiana Montoya as Luna
* Alessandra Perez as Abbie
* Mike Birbiglia as Real Estate Agent
* David Magee as Dye & Merica Rep '83
* John Higgins as Hardware Store Clerk

Production

In September 2017, it was announced that Tom Hanks would star in an English-language adaptation of the 2015 film '' A Man Called Ove'', and would also produce alongside Playtone partner Gary Goetzman, Rita Wilson, and Fredrik Wikström Nicastro of SF Studios. Marc Forster was confirmed as the film's director in January 2022, with David Magee writing the screenplay. On February 10, 2022, it was announced that Sony Pictures pre-bought the rights to the film for around at the European Film Market.

Filming

Filming began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in February 2022. It wrapped in May 2022.

Soundtrack

Thomas Newman composed the film's score. The soundtrack album was released by Decca Records on December 30, 2022. The album also features the single " Til You're Home" by Rita Wilson and Sebastián Yatra, which was released on December 2, 2022, and has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Release

The film began limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on December 30, 2022, before a wide release in the United States on January 13, 2023, by Sony Pictures Releasing. It was originally set for a wide release on December 25, 2022, then moved up to December 14, 2022, before moving to its current date.

Reception

Box office

, ''A Man Called Otto'' has grossed $21.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $14.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36.1 million.

''A Man Called Otto'' grossed $60,000 at four Los Angeles and New York theaters on its opening three-day weekend. It expanded to 637 theaters the following weekend, making $4.2 million and finishing in fourth. In its third weekend the film made $12.7 million after expanding to 3,802 theaters, surpassing its $8 million projections and remaining in fourth.

Critical response

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak gave the film an overall positive score of 93%, with 76% saying they would definitely recommend it.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Called Otto, A
2022 comedy-drama films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
American comedy-drama films
American remakes of Swedish films
English-language Swedish films
Columbia Pictures films
Films about suicide
Films about widowhood
Films based on adaptations
Films based on Swedish novels
Films directed by Marc Forster
Films produced by Gary Goetzman
Films produced by Tom Hanks
Films scored by Thomas Newman
Films set in Pittsburgh
Films shot in Pittsburgh
Playtone films