No one reading this story wants Tom Hanks to go anywhere, any time soon. The man is a national treasure. He has entertained us for decades in some of the best films ever made, and hopefully will continue to entertain us for several decades to come. But there’s no denying the fact that his last few films, from Finch to Elvis, have edged close to the darker reality of death, and that streak continues in his latest film, A Man Called Otto. As you might have seen in the movie’s trailer, Otto (Hanks) is a curmudgeon who also is up in his neighbors’ businesses. But as you will learn, there’s a sadness to Otto that drives the movie forward in unexpected ways.
Tom Hanks returned to ReelBlend, CinemaBlend’s official movie podcast, this week and spoke a lot about legacy. Now, if you know Hanks at all (and we have been lucky enough to dive deep into his filmography in the past), he doesn’t want to spend time dwelling on the past. But he does adore discussing craft. The man has been making movies for the majority of his life, and has worked with all of the greats.
But speaking about A Man Called Otto, one of several upcoming book-to-film adaptations, did put him in a reflective mood, and we went down a rabbit hole talking about one of his favorite movies that he feels gets overlooked: Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition. And in that conversation, Hanks let it be known the two titles from his career that he hopes will be remembered when the industry celebrates his incredible legacy. As he told the ReelBlend hosts:
In the realm of legacy, you know, if someone said to me, ‘Hey Tom, right after you die for real…’ Which isn't going to be for a while, isn't that right, staff? That's not going to be for a while. ‘Would you like to have a film festival of your stuff?’ And what would it be if somebody else chooses the movies? It would just be the hits. You know, the ones that play every Christmas. But I would actually say, there's a number of things that I would say that I got to go back to and delve deep into the realm of what I thought was presence and authenticity. That was very, very, very particular to those specific characters, in those specific movies. If you had to ask me for five movies, one honestly would be That Thing You Do, because it is so filled with joy, as far as I'm concerned. And I hope that I'll have another bunch of movies that I'll still get to make that might be there or not. But I would say Road to Perdition would be one of those where I would just have to say, ‘Please look at the quiet here.’ You know? ‘Please look at the quiet.’
It’s unfortunate that, in the grand scheme of Tom Hanks’ incredible body of work, that Road to Perdition gets overlooked, because he does INCREDIBLE work in the story of a gangster trying to protect his young son from entering his father’s line of work. Aside from the presence of Hanks, the movie’s cast includes a very young and up-and-coming Daniel Craig, Jude Law, and the iconic Paul Newman in one of his last on-screen roles. It was directed by Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 1917), and lensed by the legendary cinematographer Conrad Hall. So yeah, it’s a stone cold classic, and more people need to watch it. I just double-checked. It’s streaming on Netflix. Go watch it.
And naturally, That Thing You Do would be another choice of Tom Hanks’, both because it’s a wonderful movie, but also because it marked his directorial debut, so it will always hold a special place in his heart. But Tom Hanks isn’t ready to talk about legacy. Not entirely. He has a new movie in theaters as we speak. A Man Called Otto remakes a Swedish film, and adapts it for American audiences, but gives Hanks a meaty part that he completely elevates. Our complete Tom Hanks interview can be enjoyed below:
For a while, there was talk about Otto getting Hanks into the crowded Best Actor conversation, but that seems to be locked up by his Elvis co-star Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser of The Whale, and Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin. Still, A Man Called Otto very much is worth your time, so hit the theaters and check it out.
