Wristcutters: A Love Story
Wristcutters: A Love Story ***
Directed by Goran Dukic
Written by Goran Dukic, based on the novella Kneller's Happy Campers, written by Etgar Keret
Starring:
Patrick Fugit as Zia
Shannyn Sossamon as Mikal
Shea Whigham as Eugene
Tom Waits as Kneller
Will Arnett as Messiah
Leslie Bibb as Desiree
John Hawkes as Yan
91 Minutes(Not Rated-Violent/Disturbing Content, Language)
--------------------------------------------------
I always say that when it comes to film I am extremely lucky to be living in New York. If you think about it, I have seen a lot of very interesting things, advanced screenings, and theatrical events that just would not be the same if I were in, lets just say, Utah. I have been able to watch Crispin Glover preform right before the showing of his film "What Is It?" I was able to meet Justin Theorux at one of the first public screenings of the David Lynch film "Inland Empire," and now at the end of the month I will be watching fourteen films thanks to the Tribeca Film Festival. And that's just in the last five months. Now I have been given the chance to see a special advanced showing of "Wristcutters: A Love Story," and there is still a good few months before its actual release date. The film isn't set for release until the end of August.
My rating for "Wristcutters" is a three, which is generally a recommendation. In my head I did debate back and forth, and for a long while I considered a two and a half. It seriously took a lot of time to actually figure out what I thought of the film, and I don't even know if I understand completely yet. But I will try my best to get my point across. Based on the title you could probably understand that this is not a movie for everyone. It claims to be a love story, but the first part of that title is all about slitting a wrist, something that generally isn't connected to love and romance. I knew the basic premise of the film, but still didn't really know what to expect. And it is a strange film with a bit of a muddled screenplay-shifting tones often-its a road comedy, than a quirky character piece, and then a love story which is where it kind of fell apart. It is probably worth seeing simply for the fact that I have never really seen anything quite like it, even though it is far from perfect.
"Wristcutters" starts with just that-a young man cutting his wrists. This is Zia, and we never really know what drove him to cutting his wrists. He seemed relatively happy. Estranged from his parents he lives with his girlfriend Desiree, a beautiful young blonde who did something to him but that is never really revealed completely either. We than learn that Zia did die, but found out that life after death is basically a worse version of his former life. At least for those people who kill themselves. He lives in a place that looks a lot like Earth, but nobody can smile, the sun never shines, there are old beaten up objects randomly scattered around, and he is stuck at a job at the pizza place in the day and at night is forced to live with his bossy room mate Eric. One night he meets Eugene in a bar and the two hit it off. Eugene introduces him to his family. Zia is sad, though, and he finds that the only thing he misses in life is Desiree. So when he learns that she ended up killing herself shortly after he did, he convinces Eugene to go on a road trip with him to find her. The two of them set off, picking up hitchhiker Mikal along the way, who claims that she is here by mistake and wants to find the People in Charge. Eugene and Zia reluctantly allow her to come, and they all drive in the beaten up car with the broken headlights and a passengers seat that seems to have a black hole under it, and anything that is dropped never returns.
Out of all its elements-the road comedy, the love story, etc-my favorite element in "Wristcutters" is when it is a buddy comedy. This is before Mikal even enters the picture, but Zia and Eugene are alone in the car together, and some of their banter is truly hilarious. One example is when Eugene fears an Arab taxi driver, and believes that this man killed himself as an act of terrorism and is now in this place because he plans on doing the same. The love story portions don't really work because Mikal is not exactly the most interesting of characters, and writer/director Dukic tries to make her likable by making her a little offbeat and quirky, something that worked for, let's say, Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." And then at the end, and this isn't really ruining anything, when Zia eventually finds Desiree, her fate and what she has become and what happens to them is so forced, outlandish, and ridiculous, and I should have realized when there was an unexpected cameo from Will Arnett. And the films ultimate moral that, surprise!, life is worth living and you shouldn't kill yourself, isn't exactly a moral. I can't see that "Wristcutters" will save lives in the long run. The film also gets better grounds when it introduces us to Tom Waits as Kneller, a man who holds a camp for those who cannot support themselves, and it's always a pleasure to watch Waits.
One thing that is for sure, "Wristcutters" will probably make a small sum at the box office, but will become a hit on DVD for high school and college kids. I have a feeling this will become another "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Brick," or "Donnie Darko" where the young folk find it "edgy and cool." Hell, they may even like it simply for the suicide themes meshed with quirky elements. It is pretty obvious who will like this film, and I can see that it'll get a little overexposure by the beginning of next year. It is a decent film with some comic moments, worth seeing maybe once because it is something a little different, but this is not something to be treasured or cherished. See for yourself in August when "Wristcutters" is officially opened.
Directed by Goran Dukic
Written by Goran Dukic, based on the novella Kneller's Happy Campers, written by Etgar Keret
Starring:
Patrick Fugit as Zia
Shannyn Sossamon as Mikal
Shea Whigham as Eugene
Tom Waits as Kneller
Will Arnett as Messiah
Leslie Bibb as Desiree
John Hawkes as Yan
91 Minutes(Not Rated-Violent/Disturbing Content, Language)
--------------------------------------------------
I always say that when it comes to film I am extremely lucky to be living in New York. If you think about it, I have seen a lot of very interesting things, advanced screenings, and theatrical events that just would not be the same if I were in, lets just say, Utah. I have been able to watch Crispin Glover preform right before the showing of his film "What Is It?" I was able to meet Justin Theorux at one of the first public screenings of the David Lynch film "Inland Empire," and now at the end of the month I will be watching fourteen films thanks to the Tribeca Film Festival. And that's just in the last five months. Now I have been given the chance to see a special advanced showing of "Wristcutters: A Love Story," and there is still a good few months before its actual release date. The film isn't set for release until the end of August.
My rating for "Wristcutters" is a three, which is generally a recommendation. In my head I did debate back and forth, and for a long while I considered a two and a half. It seriously took a lot of time to actually figure out what I thought of the film, and I don't even know if I understand completely yet. But I will try my best to get my point across. Based on the title you could probably understand that this is not a movie for everyone. It claims to be a love story, but the first part of that title is all about slitting a wrist, something that generally isn't connected to love and romance. I knew the basic premise of the film, but still didn't really know what to expect. And it is a strange film with a bit of a muddled screenplay-shifting tones often-its a road comedy, than a quirky character piece, and then a love story which is where it kind of fell apart. It is probably worth seeing simply for the fact that I have never really seen anything quite like it, even though it is far from perfect.
"Wristcutters" starts with just that-a young man cutting his wrists. This is Zia, and we never really know what drove him to cutting his wrists. He seemed relatively happy. Estranged from his parents he lives with his girlfriend Desiree, a beautiful young blonde who did something to him but that is never really revealed completely either. We than learn that Zia did die, but found out that life after death is basically a worse version of his former life. At least for those people who kill themselves. He lives in a place that looks a lot like Earth, but nobody can smile, the sun never shines, there are old beaten up objects randomly scattered around, and he is stuck at a job at the pizza place in the day and at night is forced to live with his bossy room mate Eric. One night he meets Eugene in a bar and the two hit it off. Eugene introduces him to his family. Zia is sad, though, and he finds that the only thing he misses in life is Desiree. So when he learns that she ended up killing herself shortly after he did, he convinces Eugene to go on a road trip with him to find her. The two of them set off, picking up hitchhiker Mikal along the way, who claims that she is here by mistake and wants to find the People in Charge. Eugene and Zia reluctantly allow her to come, and they all drive in the beaten up car with the broken headlights and a passengers seat that seems to have a black hole under it, and anything that is dropped never returns.
Out of all its elements-the road comedy, the love story, etc-my favorite element in "Wristcutters" is when it is a buddy comedy. This is before Mikal even enters the picture, but Zia and Eugene are alone in the car together, and some of their banter is truly hilarious. One example is when Eugene fears an Arab taxi driver, and believes that this man killed himself as an act of terrorism and is now in this place because he plans on doing the same. The love story portions don't really work because Mikal is not exactly the most interesting of characters, and writer/director Dukic tries to make her likable by making her a little offbeat and quirky, something that worked for, let's say, Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." And then at the end, and this isn't really ruining anything, when Zia eventually finds Desiree, her fate and what she has become and what happens to them is so forced, outlandish, and ridiculous, and I should have realized when there was an unexpected cameo from Will Arnett. And the films ultimate moral that, surprise!, life is worth living and you shouldn't kill yourself, isn't exactly a moral. I can't see that "Wristcutters" will save lives in the long run. The film also gets better grounds when it introduces us to Tom Waits as Kneller, a man who holds a camp for those who cannot support themselves, and it's always a pleasure to watch Waits.
One thing that is for sure, "Wristcutters" will probably make a small sum at the box office, but will become a hit on DVD for high school and college kids. I have a feeling this will become another "Napoleon Dynamite" or "Brick," or "Donnie Darko" where the young folk find it "edgy and cool." Hell, they may even like it simply for the suicide themes meshed with quirky elements. It is pretty obvious who will like this film, and I can see that it'll get a little overexposure by the beginning of next year. It is a decent film with some comic moments, worth seeing maybe once because it is something a little different, but this is not something to be treasured or cherished. See for yourself in August when "Wristcutters" is officially opened.
posted by Eric at
4:13 PM
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