Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig, the writer and director of the 12th Dogme 95 film, 2000's critically acclaimed Italian for Beginners, presents this comedy drama starring Jamie Sives and Adrian Rawlins as brothers Wilbur and Harbour. When their mother died early in their lives, it became up to Harbour to keep tabs on Wilbur, the younger and chronically depressed of the two siblings. Now in their thirties, their father has passed away, leaving them to take over the family's used book store. It is
there that they encounter Alice (Shirley Henderson), a hospital janitor who sells the books that patients leave behind, and her young, optimistic daughter, Mary (Lisa McKinlay). Together, the four form a bond that changes each of their lives, with Harbour falling in love with Alice and Mary's sunny demeanor giving the suicidal Wilbur a reason to live. The first English-language effort from Scherfig, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself was nominated for best film at Denmark's 2003 Bodil Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Though Scherfig is still partially enrolled in the Dogme school, her movie finds a happy balance with its equally adept eye for wide-screen composition and the raw complexity of real human emotion.
Wilbur is less about adherence to cinematic restrictions than it is about characters, and Scherfig was able to coax subtle, comic performances from her actors.
More plainly dreary than morosely captivating... a movie that seems rather irresolute about exactly what sort of feelings it's hypothetically meant to be conjuring up.
Mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, very original story and well cast (even Shirley Henderson is very good here. Not nearly as "screetchy" as normal - I am sure she puts that voice on!), also quite funny in a dark way thanks to Julia Davis (I can never take her seriously. I just see Jill from NIghty Night
whenever I see her!). There was just something about the story itself that didn't sit quite right with me. It seemed horrible for Wilbur and Alice to be carrying on behind Harbour's back, and then the final scene seemed disrespectful to Harbour. I don't want to spell it all out and ruin it for those who have not seen this, but those who have will know what I mean. Perhaps I am missing the point, I am not sure...
There is something very disjointed about Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself. It almost feels as if it is in a timeless no mans land, void of any distractions or indeed the outside world. Maybe that's why it works so well. The Danes don't half make some great films, Lone Scherfig ticks all the boxes a director should as far
as I'm concerned, always giving us something new but never breaking free from the confinements of reality. The acting is good, particularly from Adrian Rawlins who really plays his part as the 'glue' of the story well. I'm always a bit weary of sensationalist titles but don't let it put you off, this is a great little film.
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