'A Man Calle Otto', where laughs and tears meet for tea. It's a story that'll make you go, 'Ah, that's how it's done!'
Data Sheet
- Director: Marc Forster, the master of not-too-dramatic.
- Genre: Comedy with a dash of tears.
- Duration: 126 minutes (thankfully, no longer).
- Year: 2023 (a good year for movies, I guess).
- Based on: A novel you haven't read, but you'll say you did.
- Main Actors: Tom Hanks (yes, him again) and other amazing characters.
Plot
Picture a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone, and then there's Otto. If life gives him lemons, he throws them at people. A grumpy widower, gifted in the art of grumbling and making others' lives slightly more miserable. But lo and behold, life has other plans for our cantankerous hero.
Enter Marisol, the neighbor with a quirky habit of smiling at life and energy enough to power a small town. Defying all logic, Marisol decides Otto needs friends. Yes, him, the guy with a love-hate relationship with humanity (spoiler: it's more hate than love).
Throw in a transgender teen, Malcolm, who sees in Otto not the neighborhood grouch, but the husband of his late, beloved teacher, and a bunch of quirky neighbors with their own daily dramas. What could possibly go wrong?
Between generational clashes, sarcastic quips, a series of tragicomic events, and maybe some personal growth (you never know), Otto learns that maybe, just maybe, life isn't that terrible. And that even a wintry heart can melt, especially if there are determined people around to warm it up, like it or not.
A human comedy that plays with absurdity and emotion, where cynicism and tenderness meet for a very, very agitated tea.
Review
This movie grabs your hand and then shoves you down an emotional staircase. Starting with Marc Forster's direction, a man clearly not afraid to dance on the edge of melodrama without ever really falling in. And then there's Tom Hanks, playing a guy so bitter he makes Hamlet look like an over-optimistic cheerleader.
The plot? Well, it's like that time you tried cooking a gourmet dish following an online recipe: unexpectedly good, but with an aftertaste of 'what the heck am I eating?'. It shifts from comedy to pitch-black drama as easily as flipping channels from a soap opera to the news. And the script? Each dialogue is a little gem of cynicism, making you wonder if the writers were having a rough time.
But the real triumph of the film is how it tackles deep themes like loss, loneliness, and self-discovery without turning into a self-help manual. Serious moments are balanced by a dry humor that'll leave you parched.
And the costumes? They look like they came straight out of the wardrobe of someone who said, 'Yeah, this looks sad enough'. The cinematography, though, is so stunning it almost distracts you from how depressing the protagonist's life is.
In conclusion, "Not So Close" is like that book you started thinking it was a light comedy, only to find it's an existential reflection on life. It leaves you a bit confused, a bit wiser, and with a strange urge to hug your grumpy neighbor. I rate it 9/10, because, as in all things in life, there's always room for a bit more cynicism.
Why I Recommend It
I recommend it because it shows real life, no Instagram filters or pretense. It's a journey into human imperfections, and who doesn't have those?
Why I Don't
I don't recommend it if you're only looking for action and explosions - here, the only explosion is emotional.
