A Man Called Ove review
A Man Called Ove opens with the titular Ove (Rolf Lassgård) at his lowest ebb. Six months previous, his loving wife, Sonja (Ida Engvoll) died of cancer and now he has just been let go from his job of 43 years in a very unceremonious manner. It is this moment that brings him to the decision to take his own life and join his wife. If is a rather morose opening, but like the main character himself, the stoic, hard exterior soon breaks away to reveal a film that has an enormous heart and a neighbourhood of characters that Ove and you will come to greatly care for.
Throughout Hannes Holm’s adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s novel, a dark streak of wit persists as we witness Ove’s numerous failed attempts at ending it all. Each attempt is used as a catalyst for an extended flashback, allowing us to see the Ove’s life, a life that has been beset by more than its fair share of grief across his many years. Holm reveals details about this ordinary extraordinary life at a steady pace, revealing more about Ove as he himself becomes more open with his new neighbours, who go some way to instilling a new sense of purpose in the short-tempered widower.
A Man Called Ove review
If that sounds familiar, then you’ve probably seen the likes of Gran Torino or St. Vincent, both of which follow a similar narrative development of melting the hard exterior of a man who has seemingly given up hope on both themselves and other people. What allows A Man Called Ove to stand on its own merits is the sheer charm of its cast of characters (and some of the best cat acting you’ve ever seen), with the relationship between Ove and his new Persian neighbour, Parvaneh (Bahar Pars). Lassgård, in particular, is absolutely brilliant in the lead role, exhibiting a suitably tough exterior to be taken down through a newfound connection, to reveal with a huge heart, both figuratively and literally.
Despite largely focusing on the small neighbourhood where Ove lives and oversees as a self-proclaimed caretaker, the story is surprisingly sprawling as we come to see the significant events of Ove’s life and the people within it that have come to shape who is he is. It is an easy story to empathise with; who we are is a result of our experiences, our decisions, our deeds, the company we keep, and the people who we come to love. Holm is keen to extenuate how relatable this story is by populating it with several individuals from different walks of life who cross paths with Ove. Not everyone resonates, in fact the film comes very close to being over-crowded come the final stretch. The final act itself also feels a little too desperate to make sure no one in the room has a dry eye; but it can be forgiven due how much attention the film pays to character throughout.
A Man Called Ove review
A Man Called Ove embraces humour, heartache and pathos, daring enough to embrace the darker elements of Ove’s story, and never too afraid to have a macabre giggle at Ove’s general ineptitude at ending it all. It never forgets to find the humour in the moment, leading to a film which is often laugh-out-loud hilarious within the moments of heartfelt connection and saddening loss.
It is not hard to see why this film has won over so many people (including the Academy); it wears its heart on its sleeve, charming with ease through establishing relationships with individuals who feel as though they could very well just live on the other side of the street. It is a film that celebrates genuine human connection as a means of repairing the seemingly unfixable. It is a wholesome, lovely and endearing film about love, life, death and the connections we make along the way. A truly warming experience.
A Man Called Ove opens in UK cinemas on Friday 30th June 2017.
