WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY

Written & Directed by: Goran DukicBased on the original short story from Etgar Keret Starring: Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits, Shea Wigham, Will Arnett,Leslie Bibb, John Hawkes, Sarah RoemerDistributed by: Autonomous Films Film will be released 23rd November 2007 in the U.K. Review by Michael Edwards

rating: 4

On hearing about Wristcutters: A Love Story, I was very very excited: based on a short story by one of the greatest short story writers around (Etgar Keret), Goran Dukic's feature debut has some seriously enticing subject matter to work with. The premise is that a young man slashes his wrists and dies, only to find himself in a weird and depressing afterlife for people who 'off themselves' (commit suicide). Stuck in this grey, strange-yet-somehow-familiar world Zia (Patrick Fugit) sets about the arduous task of existence again. But one day he learns that his girlfriend killed himself soon after he did, and resolves to head off with his newfound friend Eugene (Shea Whigham) and search for her. The journey becomes a quirky road-trip, rife with all of the subtle dark humour that material of Keret's quality has to offer... of, and of course they pick up an additional female companion or two along the way... just to spice things up. In terms of how it converted from the original short story, I am bound to be critical given my dedication to the tale's original form. But I have to say that despite the slight kinks in converting the story and characters from their distinctly Israeli origins into a neat Western package, and the hamming up of a few of the sentimental moments, it has worked pretty well. And importantly, the film did not skimp on any of the surreal aspects of this bizarre afterlife. The appearance of Kneller - played by the grand master of indie film acting, Tom Waits - heralds the great mixture of absurdly unimportant miracles (fish changing colour, discarded matching floating off into the sky and so on), and his bunch of oddball cohabitant including a mute Eskimo and a rambling eccentric prone to getting lost, all grace the screen with surprisingly understatement that fits so well into the weirdly muted afterlife, but could so easily have descended into farce. I do have to admit however, that I was mildly disappointed that the scene involving a talking dog who names himself 'Saddam' because of his 'sick sense of humour' was not brought across from the original story. But ignoring my personal opinions briefly, I'm told that Etgar Keret had other offers to make the film but Dukic was the only one to produce a screenplay, and Keret ok'd the script himself, so who am I to disagree. The central message of the film also remains the same in its nuanced series of observations about the nature of (after)life, the tangents which can lead to results you never sought/expected, the delusions we lead ourselves to believe when we're caught in a moment or stuck in a rut, the benefits of freeing yourself of worry once in a while. All of these things spring up in witty, though not really laugh-out-loud, moments of insight which are likely to strike a chord with many people out there. In all of this, the fact remains that the main draw to this film lies in the uniqueness of the short story on which it's based. The great contrast of what is essentially an uplifting, humourous road trip tale with the grey, mundane background of an ironic afterlife rovides a welcome change from the mixed back of road movies and comedies we've had this year. But the cinematography was largely uninspired in my humble opinion - most of the shots were well placed, and mood was captured nicely through well-chosen scenery and good use of colour contrast, but there were just so many interesting ideas and images that I felt could have been given a far more fun treatment. But, of course, this is all tainted with my original readings of a favourite short story! And this does also ignore the fundamental sense that the director managed to imbue the film with an innate 'coolness'. We can see this in the use of NY punk cabaret band Gogol Bordello for Eugene's band, the presence of one of the last remaining beatniks in Tom Waits, the edgy performance of Shannyn Sossamon and the brilliant fact that the most used instrument in the final score was a kazoo! So, loathe as I am given my minor concerns and my recent spate of high ratings in other reviews, I think I have to give this one a good score because in my heart of hearts I really believe it's a well-made film based on some interesting and original writing that is bound to provide a memorable cinematic experience. Wristcutters: A Love Story is out in the UK on November 23rd 2007