Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This film is about the life of a man who looks after his suicidal brother, after their parents passed away."Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" has a very engaging plot. The characters are all portrayed so well that makes you care about them very much. Several scenes are particularly effective, such as the heartbreaking cries of finding Wilbur in the bathtub, or the awkward silences in the Chinese restaurant. The emotional journeys of the characters are also very interesting, as two of the main characters go through from one affective state to another as the film progresses. In addition, a person who should be positive (the nurse) has a strikingly negative view of life, while the person who is expected to be negative remains so positive and psychologically strong. "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" is a very interesting and engaging look at the psychological journey of a troubled family.

I liked this film but I would've liked it much more if the dialog had been kicked up a few decibels and the musical score had been nearly killed off. I watched on DVD, so fortunately, I had the option of pressing hard on volume up during the dialog and pressing hard and fast on volume down and sometimes even mute during the music. Not that the score was distasteful at all, in fact, I thought it was good and very appropriate for the film. It was just that the volume itself was inappropriate. Perhaps the sound editor was afraid moviegoers would drift off asleep and s/he felt it dutiful to blast the sound out to ensure viewers wakeful alertness. At any rate, movie-good, sound editing-bad, very bad.

"Wilbur wants to kill himself" is a (so)moving parable about how easy is to let yourself die when everything seems meaningless and how hard is to live when a disease is mining you. Wilbur looks like a nice guy, the kind of man women like, he's good-looking, he has a brother who loves him... it doesn't seem like his existence is that miserable. Nevertheless he wants to leave this world, that's one of men's last rights so he'll try to kill himself in any possible way. On the contrary, his brother Harbour is full of life, he's an enthusiastic person, he's in love and he's just get married... how ironic, he has an incurable cancer, but that won't stop him from clinging to life till the last consequences. Scherfig has moved away from the stupid DOGMA corset, and creates a perfect balance between the smile and the crying, tenderness and misanthropy, between life and death. She reduces the roughness of the hardest moments with a sarcastic turn or relying on the darkest sense of humor (that's always the best antidote against tragedy). Step by step she shows Wilbur the right way (and to all of us). No moral judgments, no dogmatism... there's no need to. Wilbur is a celebration of life, but is also a show of respect for those who don't wanna live anymore. Eventually it is a celebration of the best cinema: the one that makes you feel better. *My rate: 8.5/10

If you can get hold of this film it is well worth a look. Set in Scotland and telling the tale of a suicidal man whose life changes when he falls in love with single mother Shirley Henderson, it is both witty and sad in just the right measure. The love interest between the two leading characters is not straight forward and it is upon this dilemma that the film's plot revolves. Carefully directed, it never crosses the line into outright sentimentality although it does come dangerously close. Shirley Henderson is wonderful, as usual, but there are also strong performances from Jamie Sives and Adrian Rawlins. It is a low-key movie but a touching one that proves movies don't have to be violent, fast moving or steamy to entertain. Particularly suitable for lovers of kitchen sink romance.