Review: A Man Called Otto

‘Time is the fire in which we burn’; the Delmore Schwartz un-forgettable quote Malcolm McDowell made famous in the un-memorable Star Trek 7 – kept running through my mind during ‘A Man Named Otto’.

Tom Hanks plays against-type as Otto Anderson; a grumpy, hard luck, stickler-for-the-rules; for whom, not much has been given, and nearly everything has been taken.  In Otto’s case, Time itself burns through anything, and everyone, leaving a charred husk of humanity.

What Otto does with that husk is what makes A Man Called Otto a compelling character study.

The Plot – A Man Called Otto

Otto Anderson’s sense of morality and justice is just and right.  And, anyone who isn’t on the same page better get with the program!

Otto awakens at the right time.  Otto drives and parks the right way.  And, when a hardware clerk charges him for 6 feet of rope, instead of 5; Otto lets him, his manager, and ALL the people standing in line know about it.

The small amount of pocket change doesn’t matter; the principal does.

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We meet Otto’s colorful neighbors, feel his disgust at EVERYONE doing things the WRONG way, and see the missing thing: his beloved wife, Sonya.

Otto literally puts his house in order, ties a textbook noose with his 5-foot rope, and places it around his neck.  And before the breath leaves his body, Otto’s life flashes before his eyes; and the noose falls free from the ceiling.

The attempt to take his own life fails, and Otto meticulously cleans up his living room.  Wow!  Two-for-$8 Flower arrangements ad on the newspaper lining his hanging area!  NEVER a bad time to get a good deal.

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The Good – A Man Named Otto

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks’ career seems to have entered the straight-to-streaming and ‘And Tom Hanks as ___’ portion of his career.  As someone who’s been a lifelong Hanks fan going all the way back to Big, I’m dismayed he’s been stuck in a biopic and supporting role rutt the last 10 years or so.

So, I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I saw that Hanks would be starring in this against-type character in ‘A Man Called Otto’.  As America’s ‘Mr. Nice Guy’, I was taken aback by him playing a character that looked like it was written specifically for the late Ed Asner.

‘Persnickety Incarnate’, Otto looks like the grumpiest character of Hanks’ career, at least until the film actually starts.  Once the credits roll, we see this isn’t a Comedy about a grumpy guy; this is a drama about a man who has lost EVERYTHING, and is at the end of his rope.

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To my knowledge, I can’t remember Tom Hanks playing a suicidal character before, much less someone so ordered in the taking-his-own-life process.  Hanks plays Otto not so much suicidal, as self-euthanasia-motivated, having completed his life’s work, and now is ready to move on.

This is such an odd take on a character determined to inflict self harm.  The tone focuses on Otto’s process and annoyance at interruption in his process. So much so, the film’s focus ignores the fact that he tries to take his own life, and ends up on the flashbacks of his life during his suicide attempt(s).

I haven’t seen Hanks disappear so completely into a character since ‘Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close‘ over a decade ago.  His immersion into this unlucky-in-life, order-failing-to-control-chaos character, shows just how talented an actor he is, making you feel empathy for such an unlikable character.

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Truman Hanks

At 27 years old, and in just his second on-camera role, Truman Hanks plays the YOUNGER version of his Dad’s character – Young Otto Anderson.

Truman’s portrayal isn’t simply a younger version of Tom Hanks, it is of an ‘Otto’ at a completely different place in his life.  His version is much less confident, more socially awkward, and still trying to find his place in the world.

Truman’s scenes are all told in flashback, with a different set of actors, providing backstory and memories for Adult Otto as he looks back at his life.  Much harder than playing off the main characters in the film, Truman’s impact is often by himself, or with Rachel Keller, playing Otto’s Wife, Sonia.

Despite his relative lack of acting experience, Truman brings a humanity to Young Otto that one could easily dismiss as him being the son of Tom Hanks.  But, he’s the one on screen playing a vulnerable, but not weak; and an inexperienced, but not stupid Young Otto.  These are subtle differences that could easily be mishandled by a less talented actor with his level of experience.

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The Bad – A Man Called Otto

The Trailers/Promotion

I don’t like ‘blaming’ trailers for bad things in a film, as the trailers are produced by a completely different group of people, and most importantly, NOT the filmmakers themselves.  BUT, the trailers and other promotions for ‘A Man Called Otto’ set completely inaccurate expectations for the film, and don’t honestly reflect the finished product.

The trailers, and even Tom Hanks himself in an interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, focus on a the ‘grumpy’ aspect to Otto’s personality, rather than the multiple suicide attempts the character tries throughout the film.  It’s as if they are trying to sell the film as an ‘Ed Asner’ type character that is hard to please, and NOT a person trying to end their own life.

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This completely misleads as to the actual nature of the film. And, quite frankly, the disturbing subject matter shouldn’t be hidden from people paying to see the film.  And, digging even deeper, for anyone who is sensitive to the subject should have a right to know it’s a MAJOR part of the storyline before plunking down $12 to watch the film.

While I like A Man Called Otto, this misleading aspect to the promotion doesn’t qualify as ‘spoiler’, so much as deliberately misleading the audience as to what they are paying to see.  The audience should know if they are seeing a light, ‘quirky’ Comedy as they implied in the trailers.  Or, if the film is a darker drama dealing with multiple suicide attempts by the main character.

It’s dishonest, and unfair to the audience who may be sensitive to such a jarring issue like that.

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The Review – A Man Called Otto

Simply billed as a ‘grumpy’ character by Tom Hanks, winds up being a much more hard luck, bittersweet, and ultimately poignant Drama than persnickety Comedy.

Tom Hanks gives a nuanced and knowing performance for a character who seemingly views the world in black and white terms.  He also manages to keep the focus on Otto’s humanity and what he’s had to endure, rather than the suicide attempts that could easily distract from the character’s moments and journey.

Tom Hanks’ real life Son, Truman Hanks; gives a surprisingly subtle and nuanced performance for such a wooden character.  The quality of his work belies his relative inexperience in front of the camera, and proves he didn’t just get the role out of nepotism (which definitely played a part) and his physical resemblance to his Dad (who he really doesn’t look like that much).

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We end up with a much more nuanced character study and history than the ‘grumpy’ Otto put forth in the trailers.  This ends up being a surprisingly satisfying journey for the character of Otto Anderson, that successfully manages to deflect attention away from the character’s multiple suicide attempts.

Whether this deflection buries the lead of the story, before they ACTUALLY bury the lead of the story (Otto himself — see what I did there?), is another matter entirely.

While I don’t like the misleading nature of the trailers, and the seemingly flippant treatment of the subject of suicide; I find the character of Otto Anderson compelling, and his internal logical consistency to be fascinating.

While Director Marc Forster’s handling of mental health issues and suicide attempts is surprisingly blase, we do get a pretty clear look at who Otto Anderson is, and what he has endured during his rather tumuluous life.

Worth a watch, but wait until streaming.  There’s nothing pressing or urgent that you spend the money to watch in theaters.

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