Review of Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007) by Shelton L — 20 Dec 2010

Wristcutters a love story:

It opens with suicide. Zia (Patrick Fugit) world weary and alone ends it with a razor blade in the bathroom. Yet death is not terribly final and pretty soon he is wandering around the afterlife for those who committed suicide, which is basically New Mexico only with more muted colors. One day he find out that his ex girlfriend, and his reason for killing himself, has also gone off and punched out of living prompting Zia to undertake a road trip to find her with his undead friend Eugene and hitchhiker Mikal. They journey around this strange desert wasteland until their journey brings them home.

A clever high concept rom-com it is well acted and superbly written. Its dark, quirky humor gives it a wonderfully biting edge that makes it a joy to watch. The inclusion of such cult stars as Tom Waits and comedy guru Will Arnett, make the entire film feel like one fabulous self reflexive joke.

Without overly explaining the world of the after life, writer/director Goran Dukic manages to create a vibrant world. With simple narrative inclusions as the lack of stars and the inability to smile, the world of the dead feels much like our own, only different.

The directorial skills lay in the ability to craft such an interesting world with a beautiful sound-scape while the camera itself remains rather lack luster. The big disappointment in this film is that the camera never develops a sense of unique style and the only clearly visible separation between the world of the living and the dead visually is the color gradation.

A film worth watching.