Since the death of his wife, Ove has lost all reason to live, never mind smile. He divides his time between his work and his neighborhood, where he harasses his neighbours by constantly checking to make sure they are following the rules of their home association. Fired from his job, he decides to commit suicide. But when a couple with children unexpectedly moves in next door, the life of the lonely, miserable old man is turned upside down...

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The well-worn cliché of the grumpy old man who hides his pain behind a mask of nastiness only to regain his taste for life thanks to a new arrival is plunked down into suburban Sweden, where its is coated with false cruelty to better serve its sweet moral at the end. This movie by Hannes Holm has been submitted by Sweden as its possible representative for the Oscar for best foreign film. Excellent performances by lead actor Rolf Lassgård and Ida Engvoll (who stars in a series of long flashbacks) offer enough energy to counterbalance the movie’s overuse of archetypes and its superficial script. But despite this, A Man Called Ove is too bland and uninspired to be truly moving or captivating.