Turns out there's a special place in the afterlife for people who kill themselves, where mediocrity prevails, as the newly-deceased face dead-end jobs, broken-down cars rotting on the side of cracked highways, crazy roommates, morose cops, and clueless would-be messiahs. Such is the uninspiring limbo of filmmaker Goran Dukic's Wristcutters: A Love Story, in which a pleasant young man named Zia (Patrick Fugit, all grown up since Almost Famous) ends up after opening his veins. Here, Zia makes an unlikely friend in Eugene (Shea Whigham), a dispirited Russian rocker, and they wind up hitting the road to look for Zia's girlfriend after he discovers that she also committed suicide. The ensuing trip veers off in unexpected directions (particularly when a comely hitchhiker, played by Shannyn Sossamon, jumps aboard), with a fun diversionary stop at a utopian camp run by an eccentric played by singer Tom Waits. Full of low-key wit, Wristcutters offers a vision of the human heart's persistence in even the most somber circumstances. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary (with director Goran Dukic, costars Patrick Fugit and Mikal Portnoi Lazarev, and producer Tatiana Kelly), 10 deleted scenes (16 min.), “Making the Final Cut: The Wristcutters Journey” production featurette (8 min.), a six-minute “Patrick's On-Set Photo Gallery” photo montage, a three-minute “Director's Storyboard Look-In” storyboard comparison segment, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid film.] (T. Keogh)
Wristcutters: A Love Story
Lionsgate, 88 min., R, DVD: $26.98, Mar. 25 Volume 23, Issue 3
Wristcutters: A Love Story
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