Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007) Review

 Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007)

Directed: Goran Dukic

Stars: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Tom Waits

Location: Los Angeles, CA; Paris, CA

This indie black comedy is intriguing, original, and bizarre. From the beginning sequence where we watch Patrick Fugit dutifully clean his room right before committing suicide to the eccentric plot hilariously executed by unusual characters. While this film deals with heavy subject matter such as suicide, life after death, and depression, I found myself actually laughing out loud throughout the movie. The director did a great job of dealing with the tragic themes with a very light hand and create an entertaining and meaningful story.

Shannyn Sossmon as Mikal

I have to admit that my attraction to this movie in the first place was that Shannyn Sossamon had a starring role. Ever since first being introduced to Shannyn Sossamon as the avant garde princess in A Knight's Tale, I've had a major woman crush on her. So much so that during my sophomore year of college, I regrettably took a pair of dull hair scissors and tried to personally cut my hair into the cute, shaggy, grown-out pixie that Shannyn often sports. This had me looking like a Dutch boy for well over six months. I've learned my lesson, however, that doesn't stop me from admiring and appreciating Shannyn's unique beauty

 and consequently watching her films. In Wristcutters, Shannyn plays Mikal, the adamant and quirky female lead.

Patrick Fugit as Zia

You may also know the male lead, Patrick Fugit,who plays the apathetic Zia, from movies like Spun, White Oleander, and of course ALMOST FAMOUS. In Wristcutters: A Love Story, he is followed through his journey after committing suicide into a sort of limbo "afterlife" where everyone who has also committed suicide ends up. He befriends a sex obsessed Russian alcoholic named Eugene that persistently needs to prove his masculinity while in between calling his mother every half hour. He's probably my favorite character purely based on the irony. 

The plot of this movie is totally original and there are a bunch of little quirks throughout that give it  that special charm. One of the most emotional parts of the movie for me was when Mikal is almost arrested by a cop played by Nick Offerman and henceforth we discover why he killed himself. Throughtout the movie when new characters are introduced in the "afterlife" a quick scene will reveaal how that person killed themself. As I mentioned the tone of the movie is not as tragic as it appears and some of the suicides are portrayed quite humorously. However, the discovery of the cop's suicide really hit a disturbing chord with me and I couldn't help but feel emotional even if it was for a short moment. Basically, the cop was a soldier and while under attack he puts his automatic in his mouth and shoots himself which is revealed by the cop taking his hat off and showing a large hole blown through the top of his head. I don't know why but this scene really just disturbed me. 

While I was thoroughly entertained and amused for the entire film, my personal taste is a bit more conventional. The plot was interesting but a bit hard to follow and kept taking a more wild turn in every scene. I understand the underlying plot of the movie, but if I watched it several more times I might pick on more subtle parts that I missed the first time through. I felt that they were trying to fit so many small subplots into the film and there were so many bizarre things that I wasn't sure if they were trying to convey some sort of meaning or just make the film more weird. Unfortunately, I feel that I won't be re-watching this for a few months, but I have to say it was definitely worth my time and I would recommend this movie. Overall, I'd give this movie a 7.1/ 10.

Ratings

• Entertainment:   7.8
• Theme/ Plot:      7.2
• Performances:   7.3
• Ending:              6.5
• Cohesion:          6.7
• Overall:             7.1

Favorite Scene:
My favorite scene was toward the end of the film after the PIC breakup the whole Messiah gathering when Eugene, Zia, and Nanuk are waiting for a train and having a drink. It's kind of a sad part of the film as it is the last time we see Eugene and he is leaving his family and Zia, but it just seems so nice to wait for a train and have a drink with old friends even if it's bittersweet. Also, the train that pulls up carries like two people max 😅.


Dislikes:
As mentioned previously, I did not really like how there were so many small elements and symbolism. Just to name a few; the whole miracles thing that Mikal can easily do them, Kneller's dog, the spray painted turquoise plastic flowers, the black hole in the car floorboard, Zia's dream of breaking out of prison.... there were so many I could literally fill a page. I would have appreciated them more and thought more about them if there were less but there were so many that I didn't know what was actually contributing to the message and what was fleeting. But maybe it's the type of film like ESOTSM where after the 7th time of watching it I finally have a grasp on most of the hints and hidden plots.

Things I Found Interesting in the Movie

• The afterlife doesn't have stars in the night sky.
• Mikal is continuously "fixing" signs such as SAVE US MESSIAH to SHAVE US MESSIAH
• Mikal sucks her thumb
• All three main characters are seen chewing gum several times throughout the movie which is first offered by Mikal

Ratings

• Entertainment:   7.8
• Theme/ Plot:      7.2
• Performances:   7.3
• Ending:              6.7
• Cohesion:          6.5  
• Overall:             7.1