Wristcutters - A Love Story (2006)

66% of critics liked it
(89 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(29,936 ratings)

Relegated to a forlorn afterlife of unsmiling lost souls and melancholy drifters as a result of committing suicide in the mortal realm, a heartbroken young man sets out to find the girl who inspired his final act of self-destruction after learning that she too has taken her own life in director… More Relegated to a forlorn afterlife of unsmiling lost souls and melancholy drifters as a result of committing suicide in the mortal realm, a heartbroken young man sets out to find the girl who inspired his final act of self-destruction after learning that she too has taken her own life in director Goran Dukic's adaptation of Etgar Keret's darkly comic novella Kneller's Happy Campers. A likeable young man despite his depressive disposition, Zia (Patrick Fugit) puts blade to wrist only to find that the pain of life doesn't end with the coming of death. Now trapped in a bleak metaphysical landscape populated entirely by suicide victims blearily searching for the joys that eluded them in the physical realm, Zia soon learns that the love is one of the latest arrivals in the dreary land of the dead. As Zia sets out to locate his ill-fated former companion and experience the joys that eluded the couple in life, he is joined in his quest by a lovelorn Russian rocker named Eugene (Shea Wigham) and an accidental tourist named Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), who's looking for a way out of the sorrowful stir. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: George Dukic
Written By: Goran Dukic
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Oct 19, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Mar 25, 2008
Studio: Lionsgate Films/After Dark Films

Critic Reviews

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Wristcutters is a small film of ambitions nicely scaled to the performances and story. Who knew that affectless characters could be so oddly affecting?
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's such an original piece of work and I love the deliberately bleak cinematography.
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Wristcutters is a cut above most low-budget American indies, with something original to say about the human condition and an artful way of saying it.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
The future of Wristcutters as a cult favorite is less assured. Rather than benefiting from repeated viewings, the movie's charm is pretty much spent after the first half hour.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
We witness the birth of a new genre, the Post-Slasher Movie.
Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader
The strain is obvious in the story's last third, as the filmmaker struggles toward a resolution that fits the logic of the hero's netherworld.
Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine
This road movie romcom won?t leave you reaching for the razor blades.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Having some laughs over suicide.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
A postmortem suicide heaven filled with slit personalities, not quite born again dime store messiahs, and a grimy downscale pizza dive.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
Goran Dukic adapts Etgar Keret's story with surreal whimsy and directs his "Route 666" tour through a wasteland of nothingness with deadpan understatement.
Michael Ferraro, Bronsonfive
Wristcutters: A Love Story is like a suicidal Wizard of Oz.
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper
It's certainly melancholic, occasionally funny, and ultimately life-affirming. But overall, it feels as if writer-director Goran Dukic dropped a rather promising ball.
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly
It misses the opportunity to examine why a community of people - each of whom has already given up on life - would band together to form a new society of desperate misfits.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
It is a staggeringly awful road movie, not much enlivened by the presence of Tom Waits as a wizened participant.
Cath Clarke, Guardian [UK]
The purgatorial premise is pleasingly eccentric but, in the end, Wristcutters falls victim to its washed-out mood, and limps bloodlessly to a close.
, Daily Mirror [UK]
A dreary, self-consciously quirky indie flick that seems to go on forever, despite an economical running time.
Saxon Bullock, Film4
Veering from witty to occasionally trite, Wristcutters: A Love Story has plenty of originality on its side, but never manages to be more than the sum of its self-consciously quirky parts.
Neil Smith, Total Film
A little self-consciously kooky but with an ace soundtrack that combines gypsy punksters Gogol Bordello with real-life plug-pullers this sure beats putting your head in the oven.
Paul Arendt, BBC
Dark subject matter, but Goran Dukic's film is whimsical and determinedly optimistic about life.
Tim Evans, Sky Movies
For the better part of the journey this a bizarrely uplifting yarn - razor sharp, you might say.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

John M

This is the most original love story i have ever seen. Well worth picking up. One of the most creative films ive seen in years.
Alice S

Nazdrovyeh! A triumphant love story to limbo and back again. The world to where suicides are relegated is almost Sartre-esque: mundane activities and conversations, day in, day out. "Hell is other people." However, people can still make friends here, and there are… More
Nazdrovyeh! A triumphant love story to limbo and back again. The world to where suicides are relegated is almost Sartre-esque: mundane activities and conversations, day in, day out. "Hell is other people." However, people can still make friends here, and there are miraculous oases to be found. The bond between Zia and Eugene is rather sweet and bro-tastic. There is no way Patrick Fugit can look not adorable. Raven-haired Shannyn Sossamon is probably the only woman in the world who can make chewing gum with her mouth open look so good. I also dig how the filmmakers cast Sossamon and Leslie Bibb as the present and past love interests because they look so much alike with their angular jaws and thin lips.
Lorenzo v

"You don't know what you have until you lose it." A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide. <center>"You don't know what you have until you lose it." A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide. <center>REVIEW</center> Croatian director Goran Dukic brilliantly writes and directs 'Wristcutters: A Love Story'. Based on Etgar Keret's short story, Dukic derives an original idea about life after suicide. Though many fear that the love story runs the risk of glamourizing suicide, I feel this is an unfair misinterpretation. If anything, it is the contrary which is clearly implied in the end. Dukic successfully shows that suicide is never a solution to anything. Using subtlety as a tool, he creates a specific atmosphere for the land of the dead. The washed out colour, miserable setting and unhappy characters stress on the isolation and misery of the characters. At the same time the dry humour provides some very welcoming comic relief. The music is also carefully selected. Most of the songs were sung by bands who were associated with suicide. The cinematography too works on a subtle level, using different angles, range and perspective. Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossaman do a fine job but I enjoyed Shea Whigham's Eugene the most. He's funny and at the same time one can sense his despair and sadness. Mikal Lazarev too does a wonderful job and in her non-speaking part, Tom Waits is impressive. Familiar faces like Leslie Bibb and Will Arnett also make appearances. Overall Dukic has created an original film, one that is poignant and wonderful and sensibly tackles a relevant issue.
Shawn E

A quirky and original love story about second chances surviving in the land of the suicidal. Oddly enough this dark comedy is quite cheerful.
Randy T

Call me weird but I love nerdish, oddball, improbable romances and this is about as improbable as they come. Etgar Keret (short story "Kneller's Happy Campers") and Goran Dukic (screenplay) have created a world of purgatory for suicide victims, a world where everything… More
Call me weird but I love nerdish, oddball, improbable romances and this is about as improbable as they come. Etgar Keret (short story "Kneller's Happy Campers") and Goran Dukic (screenplay) have created a world of purgatory for suicide victims, a world where everything is pretty much the way it was before only just slightly worse. Wristcutters is all about second chances, a little wakeup call for those who see their glass as half empty - sort of an optimistic look at pessimism.
Jim H

According to this fantasy/comedy, if you kill yourself, you go to a land where other suicides continue to go to their jobs, which probably caused their suicide, and still display the evidence of their efforts. As concepts go, this doesn't seem too compelling, and the film… More
According to this fantasy/comedy, if you kill yourself, you go to a land where other suicides continue to go to their jobs, which probably caused their suicide, and still display the evidence of their efforts. As concepts go, this doesn't seem too compelling, and the film doesn't use this concept to say anything unique. Rather, it is simply shot in a dull, dreary color scheme, and the characters are appropriately lifeless. Additionally, structurally, we don't get to the eponymous love story until after act two is well on its way, and in the middle of act two, we're suddenly introduced to a political plot that is never fully explored and I was never completely clear on. And there is no denying that Wristcutters: A Love Story falls into a trap common for road movies; namely, the supporting characters are more interesting than the main characters' journey, and the film subsequently loses its focus. For all its flaws, this film charmed me. Patrick Fugit has good comic timing, and Shannyn Sassamon provides some color to an otherwise bland canvass. Overall, this is short film, and if you're susceptible to a quirky brand of funny (cf. Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine), then you might find it worth the time.
James A

It makes me happy to see Tom Waits act in movies because it lets me know I wont have to hear him sing.
Spencer S

Good cast, good premise, bad script, bad execution.
familiar s

Unlike what I was looking forward to, this one turned out to be quite plain & mediocre. Not to say that it wasn't a good one, it just wasn't that great.
Leigh R

Very odd but quite endearing. I think I am completely in love with Patrick Fugit now though. Worth a watch.
♥˩ƳИИ &

CAST: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham DIRECTED BY: Geoge Dukic SUMMARY: Suicide is not the end, but only the beginning of a fascinating journey through the afterlife for souls in search of what they could not find in their previous lives. MY THOUGHTS: Really… More
CAST: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham DIRECTED BY: Geoge Dukic SUMMARY: Suicide is not the end, but only the beginning of a fascinating journey through the afterlife for souls in search of what they could not find in their previous lives. MY THOUGHTS: Really interesting with a great cast of people. Not a film I have ever seen before when it comes to the story line. It's a dark comedy of suicidal love. Intriguing and keeps a steady pace. Never got boring for me, and held my interest throughout. See it if you haven't.
Wahida K

An Offbeat Comedy, A Love Story, A Road Movie - But Everybody's Dead
Drew S

Wristcutters is a cute, unconventional exploration of suicide and ennui. The notion that things are actually MORE boring after killing yourself than they are before is a fantastic conceit, and one that would dissuade me from ever wanting to take my own life. It's slight, and not… More
Wristcutters is a cute, unconventional exploration of suicide and ennui. The notion that things are actually MORE boring after killing yourself than they are before is a fantastic conceit, and one that would dissuade me from ever wanting to take my own life. It's slight, and not terribly funny for a movie that bills itself as a comedy, but it's sweet and the ending leaves you feeling oddly uplifted. Which is strange, you know, for a movie about suicide. Not revelatory or anything, but won't leave you feeling insulted or patronized, which seems to be getting harder to find in a movie these days...
Coxxie M

really extremely freakin indie, but take all that away and its good
Greg S

In a starless and smileless afterlife reserved for suicides, three dead souls embark on a road trip: Zia searches for his earthly lover, while Mikal looks for the People in Charge, and crusty Russian Eugene comes along for the ride. An entertainingly offbeat romantic comedy disguised… More
In a starless and smileless afterlife reserved for suicides, three dead souls embark on a road trip: Zia searches for his earthly lover, while Mikal looks for the People in Charge, and crusty Russian Eugene comes along for the ride. An entertainingly offbeat romantic comedy disguised as a black comedy.
Tim S

I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would because I thought that I would hate it. Either way, once you get past the other world that looks like California setting (I know it was made on a shoe string budget, but it seems like everything is made on a shoe string budget and… More
I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would because I thought that I would hate it. Either way, once you get past the other world that looks like California setting (I know it was made on a shoe string budget, but it seems like everything is made on a shoe string budget and what I'm wondering is if this thing is so shoe string budget wise then how the fuck did they afford Job from Arrested Development, but anyway...) and realize that all logic can be forgotten because it is in this other world that looks like California. you actually might have a good time with this movie. The big problem is that Patrick Fugit (the lead) was very annoying in some scenes to me (the scene where he plays drunk is one of the worst actor playing drunk scenes I have ever seen), but there is the absolutely stunning Shannyn Sossamon to watch so it's not that bad. Then there is Tom Waits and Will Arnett that try to slap some good into the film, but by that time you as a viewer don't care and it's too late. The ending was cute, but I saw it coming a mile away.
_kelly .

Fantastic film with one flaw - its ending.
Aaron N

Mikal: Are you joking? Do you guys like it here? Who the hell likes being stuck in a place where you can't even smile? It's hot as balls, everybody's an asshole. I just wanna go home. An offbeat, dark fantasy comedy revolving around a setting for characters who have… More
Mikal: Are you joking? Do you guys like it here? Who the hell likes being stuck in a place where you can't even smile? It's hot as balls, everybody's an asshole. I just wanna go home. An offbeat, dark fantasy comedy revolving around a setting for characters who have committed suicide. Patrick Fugit stars as Zia, a young man who has recently killed himself because his girlfriend dumped him. As a result, he has been sent to a strange limbo where the only other people who exist are others that have killed themselves. This place is mostly humorless and very much a desert that stretches on and on. Zia meets another lost soul, Eugene, who also has nothing left. After hearing that Zia's former girlfriend has also committed suicide, the two decide to take a road trip to try and find her. During this time, the two pick up a hitchhiker, Mikal played by Shannyn Sossamon, who claims to have killed herself by accident and is seeking "the people in charge" in an effort to clear up her mistake. Its a road movie and a human comedy with a unique premise. The actors all do a good enough job at keeping things somewhat humorous in a dark fashion, while reflecting the bland situation they are in due to what they have done. While this mostly works, the movie itself, at times does feel just that - bland. The film itself is only 88 minutes, so its certainly not punishingly slow and enough quirky characters, including the always strange Tom Waits, come into play to keep things fresh enough. An entertaining enough, offbeat comedy, with a nice offbeat soundtrack to boot. Eugene: I'm not sitting in the back. Zia: Why not? Eugene: Cause everybody knows guy in the back seat doesn't have a cock. Zia: I don't know about you Eugene, but I got a cock. Do you have a cock Mik? Mikal: Yeah, I got a cock. A big fat one.
Gordon A

Self consciously wacky movie with an interesting central premise which loses its way towards the end as it piles on the o.t.t. characters.
Luke B

Romance and suicide. Just what we want to see. The film is sweet and funny without ever being hilarious and it deals with the subject in a rather mature yet lighthearted manner. Having the suicide after life being pretty much the same just with no smiles is a wonderful little twist.… More
Romance and suicide. Just what we want to see. The film is sweet and funny without ever being hilarious and it deals with the subject in a rather mature yet lighthearted manner. Having the suicide after life being pretty much the same just with no smiles is a wonderful little twist. Being a huge Tom Waits fan it was great to see him in a rather large role proving once again he's a damn fine actor as well as the worlds greatest musician.