Most people don’t spend much of the day thinking about how they will be remembered; they see their actions and relationships as the defining factors of their lives. A few people will give property value. What makes director Goran Dukic’s Wristcutters: A Love Story interesting and unique is the weight attached to the method one “offs” themselves.
Zia (Patrick Fugit) is a depressed individual who slit his wrists and is now wondering a world of like-minded individuals. The land he wanders is symbolic of the downtrodden. Everything is hit with a cool hue. Smiling is impossible. Material objects are garbage. It’s a poor man’s Neitherworld from Beetle Juice. Zia gets the hint that his love has offed as well and sets out to find her with his new Russian pal Eugene (Shea Whigham).
The two travel across the wasteland in a car of such structural demise that it’s amazing it can get down the road. The “Pimp My Ride” team would have their work cutout for them because this car actually has it’s own void, a hole where dropped sunglasses have no chance of return. They find a hitchhiker named Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon). She insists she didn’t kill herself and is looking for the People In Charge to send her back to the world of the living.
This isn’t the most fun to be had with such a morbid subject, but it’s not bad. I didn’t find myself spilling over with laughter, but the pace was strong and the mission clear. This is however another movie brought down by the lead being the least interesting person in the film. I can’t tell you much about Zia because little is given, and little is worth asking about. He killed himself over Desiree (Leslie Bibb), I think, but the subplot that brings her into the mix is out of left field.
There are more things that don’t quite add together. If everyone in this gloomy land committed suicide, how do they account for the dogs or turkey? A line or flashback to accompany an animal suicide would have been worthwhile, after all some of the human deaths were played for laughs. It’s a dark comedy, no doubt, but it’s also billing itself as a love story. At least it’s not Wristcutters: A Romantic Comedy. Despite avoiding the predictability of a rom-com, it ends on a note that is all too familiar. It’s a cute way to wrap up the tale, but the route taken defies too many established rules.
Wristcutters: A Love Story is still enjoyable, and for the most part well executed. Eugene and Mikal carry the film with bickering and nuisances. I particularly got a kick out of Mikal’s chronic sign defacing. Production values are excellent for a low budget, truly independent flick. It’s just one of those movies that comes close to going the distance but ended up somewhere just better than middle of the road. **½
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