Grief is an obscure emotion. Unlike other individualistic feelings, grief is a mix of every negative emotion imaginable — guilt, anger, pain, sadness, and numbness combine to torture its victim mentally. This is the plight Otto, the protagonist ofA Man Called Otto, suffers and overcomes.
In this feel-good film, based on the novel,A Man Called Oveby Fredrick Backman, we are introduced to Otto Anderson (played by Tom Hanks), a man who sees the world without colors. He is brash, loud, and explosive. Initially, Otto is portrayed as the grumpy old man no one wants to associate with. However, beneath his sour layers is a grieving widower contemplating suicide so that he can be reunited with his late wife.
Fortunately, just as he is about to hang himself, he is disturbed by a cheery-pregnant woman who, along with her reserved husband and two adorable children, changes the course of Otto’s life. While this comedy-drama is a redemptive story about finding joy in life again, it highlights the stark terrors of despair, the significance of kindness, and the necessity for communal empathy towards everyone regardless of what they convey on the outside.
The Sting of Loss
This drama unfolds simultaneously in the past and present. His younger self, played by Truman Hanks, Hanks' real-life son, is the innocent, positive version of Otto. Just as we see an elderly Otto go through a redemptive evolution towards the end of the film, we see how the kind Otto transformed into the embittered one.
Otto’s driving force is his grief for his late wife and the child they never had. Hanks' wonderful performance as Otto denotes the guilt and longing to carry on our late loved ones. To the point we remain stagnant and forget to live, and even if or when we do, we project the hurt onto other people as a coping mechanism and a means to ask for help. In the first scene, we see Otto purchasing a rope, measuring the length and durability with his fists and a pocket knife. An agent approaches him to ask if he needs help, but Otto retorts by asking if he thinks he will “cut himself and bleed all over the floor.”
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Ironically, he uses the same rope to try to hang himself. This scenario proves how bereaved people scream for help beneath their mean exteriors. It explains the difficulty of expressing grief, how easier it is to pretend no help is needed, and how mutually rewarding it is for everyone to reach beneath and show deeper concern, which Marisol does with a kind heart.
The Impact of Kindness
Marisol, played by Mariana Treviño,deserved an Oscar nominationfor Best Supporting Actress, not only for her sharp performance that seamlessly hops from Spanish to English, but also for the life lesson on compassion conveyed through her endearing character. Marisol proves how far a friendly introduction complemented with a well-prepared pollo con mole can go. Despite being rudely responded to, Marisol sticks her foot in his door, choosing not to back away from Otto’s hostility. She does not dismiss him as the grumpy old white man in the neighborhood; instead, Marisol treats Otto with empathy, more importantly, like a human who is just as flawed as everyone else.
Even though she is a mother dealing with the responsibility of two children and another on the way, her selflessness shines when she remains intentional about understanding Otto and being part of his life. Her concern leads him to open up and heal old wounds, and in return for Marisol’s gift of kindness, Otto gives her driving lessons. He babysits her children and gifts her the cradle he originally built for his baby. In the end, Otto generously leaves her his Chevy and more. Through their friendship and every character in the film, we learn kindness is as emotionally rewarding to the person giving as well as who receives it.
Another instance of kindness highlighted is when Otto allows Malcolm (Mack Bayda), a teenage news vendor, to crash the night after he reveals he was sent away from home due to his new sexual identity. In every scene, just as the foreboding presence of loss is felt, it is accompanied by the need for kindness to be shown by the protagonists and every other character in a way that encourages the audience to do the same in the real world.
The Importance of Community
According toPsychology Today, no one wants to be a burden on anyone. We are so secluded in our own worlds and problems that it’s difficult even to know the name of the person living across your street.
A Man Called Ottoand othersimilar feel-good filmsaim to orient us on the importance of dialogue and friendships while giving practical methods to foster effective communal living that elevates our life experiences as social animals. One of these practical strategies is featured in this comedy-drama: going out of one’s way to start conversations with our neighbors, especially those who act or seem to need it least.
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Society and Social Media
Interestingly, the climax of the story is Otto realizing his purpose to live again, and the first action he takes is to prevent the eviction of Reuben and Anita from their home into the care system. Otto devises a clever plan to ensure Reuben remains in his home under the care of his wife and friendly neighbors by trapping the system into being scared away by a social media journalist who is live on air. This itself asks: at this point in society and culture, is the only thing preventing people from being total jerks, a live camera recording their actions? Simultaneously, it begs: is the presence of a camera the appropriate motivating factor to perform a heroic deed for social media praise?
When Otto saved a man from being run over by a train, he didn’t do it to go viral or become a sensation among everyday heroes. He did what was necessary when everyone was recording another man at his lowest moment for social media content rather than being in the moment and lending a helping hand. These subplots demonstrate areas where we can improve to build the society we want to live in — a world where random acts of kindness or the actions of a rallying community are not rare incidents we see on our fyps and special news segments, but everyday occurrences that need no camera coverage to validate their genuinety.
From internet culture, retirement, isolation, senior depression, ageing, the care industry, parenting, real estate, and every topicA Man Called Ottobriefly touches, what this film nail is its presentation of kindness and community as a remedy for isolated members of society in need of hope to carry on, a reason to smile away, a purpose of seeing the next day, and a positive emotion to feel again. In addition to the film’s strengths,A Man Called Ottois undoubtedly one of the best films of 2023 so far. More notably, it has earned a spotamong modern classicsthat explore the essence of life.
