Danish director Lone Scherfig presents her second Dogme-style film, following her sweet and subtly brilliant ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS, with this English-language drama set in Glasgow, Scotland. The charmingly dilapidated used bookstore where most of the film takes place creates an atmosphere of comforting humility. However, the plot stands in direct contrast to that, laying a depressing blanket of helplessness over the generally likeable, attractive characters. Wilbur (Jamie Sives) does not really want to kill himself but he keeps his older brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins) very busy trying to prevent his disingenuous suicide attempts. When Wilbur is rejected by the therapists at the counseling center, Harbour accepts him as a roommate, taking on the responsibility of preserving his brother's life. Wilbur's perpetual foul mood and misanthropy permeate Harbour's otherwise kind and hopeful persona. He even manages to ruin Harbour's wedding to a needy single mother (Shirley Henderson). To the extent that suicidal tendencies carry a certain irony, WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF has its funny moments. Even so, its truest strength is its fantastically emotive performances, and Scherfig's ability to make even the simplest gesture have a pronounced and weighty impact.
THEATRICAL RELEASE: MARCH 12, 2004 (NY)
MARCH 26, 2004 (LA)
DVD Features:
Region [unknown]
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Executive Producer
Peter Aalbaek Jensen: PRODUCER\"ZENTROPA"
Director of Photography
Jørgen Johansson: Director of Photography, ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (2001)
Review 1:
"[I]n its irreverence, pain and underplayed poeticism, it matures into a film worth loving. Life-affirming."
Source: Uncut
p.136 01/01/2004
Review 2:
"[An] unusual and unusually moving film..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.E22 03/26/2004
Review 3:
“Ms. Scherfig’s film is full of life, which is an odd thing to say about a story that turns on death.”
Source: Wall Street Journal
09/11/2009
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