In gentle dramedy "A Man Called Otto" (remaking Sweden's 2015 "A Man Called Ove") Tom Hanks excels (no surprise - what an actor) as the titular widower grieving his late wife (Rachel Keller in flashbacks (with Truman Hanks as the younger version of his actual dad)), preparing to join her, and using grumpiness to fend off friends & neighbours like Mariana Treviño (outstanding), Cameron Britton, Mack Bayda & Juanita Jennings - but might community spirit, mutual disdain for realtor Mike Birbiglia, and a cat warm him up? Director Marc Forster, writer David Magee, and especially Hanks & Treviño bring it all home with understated humour, polish, & quiet class.

Based on the swedish movie "En man som heter Ove (A Man Called Ove)" from 2015.

This movie is almost an exact replica of the original. Almost same scenes, dialogs.

For some reason, U. S. remakes of European movies are made almost identical to the original. Maybe that is an European clause to be able to make a remake.

Still, Tom Hanks does what he does best: Entertain. And the supporting cast such as Mexican actress Mariana Treviño and Mexican actor Manuel Garcia-Rulfo do a great job, too. Specially Mariana, which even steals some of the scenes with her acting.

One of the few remakes that are enjoyable to watch.

Living in a house on a closed-off oval of a street, Otto is not just his neighborhood association's resident crank, he's its unofficial watchdog for everything from vehicle rules to animal control to basically whatever irritates him.

Newly jobless as a forced retiree from the auto plant, believably friendless, and a widower of many months, Otto approaches his various attempts at suicide with procedural efficiency, only to be interrupted unwittingly by the newest move-ins, a kind, spirited young family of four led by sharp-tongued, pregnant Marisol.

Having never saw the original source material, and fearing that Hollywood were just being lazy, I had trepidation when going to see this. Was it a gimmick to cast Hanks a grumpy man, after all, he's the nicest man on the planet....

How wrong I was, as I found this film to be captivating and emotionally draining from the upstart. Hanks is wonderful as the 'I can't stay angry for long' titular character, and although he has a very stand offish persona, his back story is sad, and you realise quite quickly why he has a problem with the world. He dislikes the situation, not necessarily the people around him.

When Marisol arrives, the film becomes effervescent, and like the audience, Otto cannot help but be drawn in by this wonderful, loving person, no matter how hard he tries.

But this film carries a very dark side to it, and as the film progresses, you realise that Otto has given up, and the fact that he is emotionless to this fact, makes the film that little more bittersweet. He helps people, and then he helps them some more, but the air of his suicide is still evident in the narrative and the overall feel of the film.

The flashbacks are both truly beautiful and harrowing, and I must admit, I was brought to tears several times during the film. If, by way of the trailer, you think this is grumpy Hanks playing it for laughs, you'll be in for a shock, because this is not that film. There are some funny moments, but it's not an out and out comedy, it's so much more than that.

What a great start to the year.....