Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself)

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That rare thing, decency, shines out of Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), a wonderful and dark-humored comedy about a would-be suicide. The depressive Wilbur (Jamie Sives) is the opposite of his big-hearted brother, Harbour (Adrian Rawlins), yet he remains irresistible to women--including Harbour's new live-in girlfriend. Director Lone Scherfig uses the gray-skied Edinburgh location in much the same way she did her native Denmark in the terrific Italian for Beginners; the gloomy setting belies the vaguely magical things that might happen to the characters. Scherfig knows just how to balance different tones (and in a comedy about a suicidal man, she has to), and she's great with actors, even in small roles. Special standouts here are the beaming Rawlins and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (King Arthur), as a stoical, chain-smoking doctor. How nice it is to see a movie that makes you feel good without coming on all icky about it. --Robert Horton

Description

The chronically suicidal Wilbur and his good-hearted big brother Harbour are in their thirties, when their father dies, leaving them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in Glasgow. Wilbur survives yet another suicide attempt and goes to the hospital, where he meets Horst a cynical psychologist and his empathic head nurse, Moira. Like Harbour, they believe that Wilbur needs a girlfriend. But even though women fall for Wilbur all the time, they can't get close to him. In fact, it is Harbour who falls in love when a shy and intense woman, Alice, enters the lives of the brothers. Alice lives a life in isolation with her little daughter, Mary. She supplements her job as a cleaning lady at the hospital's surgical ward, selling books that the patients have left behind. Little by little, Wilbur, Harbour and Alice become inseparable. Wilbur starts regaining his lust for life, Alice starts to come out of her shell, and Mary starts reading the thousands of books in the second-hand bookshop. Harbour has never been happier, but he carries a deep secret that threatens to surface.

Customer Reviews:

Wilbur Ain't Wright.......2007-08-12

With a name like, "Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself," one anticipates an odd movie with a dark sensibility - and it is just that - but it's also a warm, touching movie with an inviting sensibility. The protagonists of WWTKH inhabit a rarified, almost surreal world, but thanks to exceptional acting and direction by Lone Scherfig, who also co-wrote the screenplay, we don't need to be "sold" on it, we simply sink into it like a comfy, overstuffed armchair.

The atmosphere of WWTKH is steeped in melancholy that's prototypically Scottish. Two brothers, Wilbur and Harbour, live is Glasgow, Harbour manages a bookstore left to him by his father. Though perhaps grand once, it now seems to subsist, barely, on the patronage of one customer who resolutely attempts to purchase works by Kipling. These brothers have an achingly sad past, both of their parents died in ways certain to leave deep psychic scars. However, in true Scots fashion, they never discuss the emotional trauma that directs their lives and undermines their tepid attempts at finding happiness.

Wilbur does indeed try to kill himself, several times. For him, ending it all is somewhere between an avocation and a hobby, so much so that the local suicide support group kicks him out. The dynamic between the brothers is drawn, Wilbur is a sad loser - Harbour is resilient and strong - an endlessly forgiving and loving caretaker. Into this odd dynamic strolls another casualty of the storm, Alice, and her enchanting daughter. Before long Alice and Harbour are married, and it would seem that this newfound stability might have a positive effect on Wilbur as well - creating a safe, extended family.

I won't go beyond this. WWTKH is not a film of shocking plot twists, but it has its surprises and you should be allowed to enjoy them as they unfold. At times I had the feeling of watching people who had survived a shipwreck, bobbing on the water, desperately clutching at flotsam and jetsam. I found it virtually impossible to judge any of them, not even Wilbur, whose obsession with suicide at times seemed a bit narcissistic. Most likely it is the director's hand that accounts for this, the extreme gentility of this movie. There is perhaps a little bit of Dear, Frankie here, another "small movie" set in Scotland that touches the heart.

Many splendid secondary characters, notably the German doctor - completely believable, and the nurse with eyes for Wilbur. Truly a wonderful and obscure gem worth tracking down.

"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please" .......2007-06-05

Wilbur (Wants To Killl Himself) ranks right up there with the best of the suicide movies-MASH, Harold and Maude, The Virgin Suicides and Romeo & Juliet. I was kind of scared of this one because Dogma movies often make me suicidal (Breaking Waves, Dogville) and I had never seen Italian for Beginners. However, not to worry, it is a quirky little story with a really great cast. Never have terminal illness, suicide, mental hospitals, adultry and grey gloomy Glasglow been better handled. I don't intend to give away the climax and I advise you to not read any further because most of the reviews have plot spoilers. This movie works much better if you don't see plot twists coming, it was so good I watched it twice.

An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film.......2006-10-23

Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself) is an emotionally complex film that is, I suspect, subject to a wide range of reactions. I am somewhat bothered by several aspects of the story as it played out in dramatic fashion, yet I still loved the movie. There is just something magical and ethereal about the film's atmosphere and characters that make it endearing -even during its most emotionally troubling moments. It's hard to even classify this film in terms of genre, for it is both everything and nothing. For me personally, it's a drama with just a few touches of dark comedy, but some will regard it as more of the latter. Wilbur did not make me feel good or necessarily glad to be alive; its poignancy left me rather subdued, actually. But - and this is the important part - it certainly made me feel something that stayed with me after the end credits rolled.

One thing this film doesn't do is to take you inside the mind of a suicidal individual. Wilbur's several attempts at suicide are sort of just there - they aren't funny, yet they are hard to take seriously (with one exception), and his behavior in general suggests very little about the seriousness of his intentions. More importantly, we never learn why he is suicidal - although one possible clue emerges midway through the film. I never grew to like or dislike Wilbur (Jamie Sives) to any strong degree. I found his brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins) much more fascinating and a much stronger character. Harbour is one of the few true good guys in the world, the nucleus of his family. Having cared for their father until his recent death, he now struggles to keep open the family book store and take care of his suicidal brother. Enter the waiflike Alice (Shirley Henderson), a single mother who comes to the book shop to sell the books that patients' families leave behind in the hospital (where she works as a cleaning lady), and her sweet daughter Mary (Lisa McKinlay). Harbour and Alice soon marry, and even with the emotional wildcard that is Wilbur, it looks like a truly happy ending is in the works.

This is no fairy tale, however, and the cruel hand of Fate steps in to change these characters' futures dramatically. As this is happening, the emotional interconnections between all of the main characters grow and evolve in really complex ways. I have some personal objections to the story as it evolves after this point, but I find myself quite unable to stand in judgment of these truly human characters, especially with the ending playing out as it does.

Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), honored with numerous film festival awards, is a beautiful film - and Lone Scherfig's directorial prowess is made manifest by the fact that few artists could have pulled such a film off. If Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself) were truly a dark comedy (at least in terms of my definition of the genre), the film would not have worked at all - nor would an exaggerated sense of melodrama have done anything but skewer the film's effectiveness. Scherfig guides this emotionally complex story with the most subtle of directorial hands, helped along immeasurably by standout performances all around - especially by Adrian Rawlins and Shirley Henderson. This is definitely a movie worth seeing.

Brothers.......2006-05-21

Wilbur (a wry, sad Jamie Sives) wants out of Life in a bad way and he tries several ways to accomplish his goal: pills, head in oven, slit wrists but he never quite succeeds often due to his personal angel and brother Harbour (a terrific Adrian Rawlins).
Director and screenwriter, Lone Scherfig (the ironic, witty, intelligent "Italian for Beginners") packs "Wilbur" with a number of very serious topics: suicide, terminal illness, infidelity and proceeds to deal with them in a manner that can only be described as ironic: irony with a very light, though often tragic and humane touch.
Schefig's mise en scene is thick and heavy with the detritus of her characters troubled and out-of-whack lives and even when a woman enters Wilbur and Harbour's life...the winsome Shirley Henderson as Alice things do not get much better but only more complicated.
Scherfig has crafted a very sad, troubling film about people caught up in the past who never quite grow out of that particular quagmire of guilt, shame and remorse. "Wilbur" is a difficult movie to comprehend much less love but nonetheless there is much to admire here for anyone looking for the intriguing and unusual.

This Movie Kills Itself.......2005-06-18

When I got done watching this film all I could see it as was Lone Scherfig's love letter to Hollywood. During the course of this film he finds multiple ways to pretend that he's Frank Capra, only that he's a hack (and no I was not a fan of "Italian for Beginners" either). Let's examine some questions together, shall we? Why does this film contain characters who speak English when clearly this is a Danish director and this film hardly looks to be taking place in an English speaking nation? Why does the film contain a big secret that is held until the end at which point it is revealed and then the characters have to overcome this deception ("She's All That" anybody?)? Why does the climax take place on Christmas? Why does it also involve a fairy tale ending that is also bitter sweet so that the females in the audience can leave the theatre with two types of tears in their eyes? The answer to all these questions, obviously, is that he thinks that is what the American audiences want (and most of them do, but most of the time I feel bad for humanity). I'm sorry I just didn't buy the fact that while Wilbur wanted to kill himself his brother just happened to have a terminal disease. The fact that it was a matter of life an death allows the audience to get up on their high horses and proclaim that life is ALWAYS worth it, so that at the end when Wilbur discovers life and love we can be vindicated that we were right all along. But what if, instead of dealing with life and death, we were dealing with fame? Then the name of the movie would be "Entourage." Looking back on season 1 of that HBO show we can see parallels between Wilbur and his brother, and Vincent and his brother. Only "Entourage" is trying to be funny not righteous and the result is much better. In "Wilbur Wants to kill Himself" they take an outrageous plot and serve it to the audience with a straight face as a melodrama. That said I have seen much worse movies this year. For filming in Dogma style this film does manage to get some beautiful shot, especially some of sunlight illuminating a bedroom. I also like Shirley Henderson a lot, but I would much rather watch her in a good movie (like "Intermission") then dreck like this. I'm sorry but if Wilbur really wanted to kill himself he would have, it looks to me like he was just biding his time until his brother dropped dead so that he could steal his bride. 2.25 out of 5.

Average customer rating:

Wilbur Ain't Wright
"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please"
An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film
Brothers
This Movie Kills Itself

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
Starring: Gordon Brown , Julia Davis , Elaine M. Ellis , Owen Gorman , and Shirley Henderson
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00080ZHEG
Release Date: 2005-04-01

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Customer Reviews:

Wilbur Ain't Wright.......2007-08-12

"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please" .......2007-06-05

An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film.......2006-10-23

Brothers.......2006-05-21

This Movie Kills Itself.......2005-06-18

Average customer rating:

Wilbur Ain't Wright
"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please"
An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film
Brothers
This Movie Kills Itself

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
Starring: Jamie Sives , Adrian Rawlins , Shirley Henderson , Lisa McKinlay , and Mads Mikkelsen
Director: Lone Scherfig
Manufacturer: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

Rawlins, Adrian | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

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ASIN: B00068S3IW
Release Date: 2004-12-28

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

Wilbur Ain't Wright.......2007-08-12

"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please" .......2007-06-05

An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film.......2006-10-23

Brothers.......2006-05-21

This Movie Kills Itself.......2005-06-18

Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]

Average customer rating:

Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]
Director: Lone Scherfig
Manufacturer: Nordisk
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FT787O

Product Description

Sweden released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Surround), Danish (Subtitles), Finnish (Subtitles), Norwegian (Subtitles), Swedish (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: Danish director Lone Scherfig presents her second Dogme-style film, following her sweet and subtly brilliant ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS, with this English-language drama set in Glasgow, Scotland. The charmingly dilapidated used bookstore where most of the film takes place creates an atmosphere of comforting humility. However, the plot stands in direct contrast to that, laying a depressing blanket of helplessness over the generally likeable, attractive characters. Wilbur (Jamie Sives) does not really want to kill himself but he keeps his older brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins) very busy trying to prevent his disingenuous suicide attempts. When Wilbur is rejected by the therapists at the counseling center, Harbour accepts him as a roommate, taking on the responsibility of preserving his brother's life. Wilbur's perpetual foul mood and misanthropy permeate Harbour's otherwise kind and hopeful persona. He even manages to ruin Harbour's wedding to a needy single mother (Shirley Henderson). To the extent that suicidal tendencies carry a certain irony, WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF has its funny moments. Even so, its truest strength is its fantastically emotive performances, and Scherfig's ability to make even the simplest gesture have a pronounced and weighty impact.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access, Production Notes, Posters, Making Of, Interactive Menu, Deleted Scenes, Commentary, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Biographies, Alternative Footage,

Average customer rating:

Wilbur Ain't Wright
"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please"
An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film
Brothers
This Movie Kills Itself

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself [Region 2]
Starring: Jamie Sives , Adrian Rawlins , Shirley Henderson , Lisa McKinlay , and Mads Mikkelsen
Director: Lone Scherfig
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0001FYQ0O

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Wilbur Ain't Wright.......2007-08-12

"Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, & I can take or leave it as I please" .......2007-06-05

An emotionally complex, poignantly subdued, captivating film.......2006-10-23

Brothers.......2006-05-21

This Movie Kills Itself.......2005-06-18

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