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A Man Called Ove Review

What I liked: The book A Man Called Ove is very funny and touching. It pretty much reminds you of every old grouchy person you know and love. The movie captures some of that. They do a good job of bopping around through his life history. I liked the way that they worked in the flashbacks on Ove's life. There was a lot of cutting but they did an admirable job of streamlining the story to drive the current plot. They also did a good job with Rune and I liked the clown. The main "White shirt" adversary was less evil, which I suppose is a good thing. I also liked the driving lesson. Mostly, I was glad that the whole thing felt right. It was a little movie about a little man, filled with complexity and emotion. The ending was well done.

What I didn't: Pravaneh says it best "Ove, you are really terrible at dying." I imagine that Ove could commiserate with the guy from Groundhog's Day. The main thing that it seemed like it was missing was humor. The book is really quite funny. The movie is not. My roommate sniffily asked me why we were watching such a sad movie. Also, I don't think the movie captures Ove's character. He fills the angry old man role and gets some depth but not as much as I hoped from a book that was essentially all about demonstrating who Ove is. Instead of reminding you of the grouchy old people you love this Ove seemed to evoke more of the terrifying, morose old person your mom used to take casseroles to. But maybe old people stereotypes are different in Sweden.

Who should watch this? People who like Swedish films. People who like dramas. People who liked the book and wished it were slightly more tragic.

Would I watch it again? Once was enough.

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