WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY — ** — Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham; rated R (profanity, violence, vulgarity, brief drugs, brief gore, slurs)
"Wristcutters: A Love Story" makes light of suicide, a decidedly serious subject. But that bit of questionable taste is not the main reason this comic fantasy flatlines.
Screenwriter/director Goran Dukic can't quite decide on a tone. The film is at times lighthearted, almost effervescent, and then it's so dark that it becomes depressingly bleak.
The film also meanders, as the characters and the film basically stumble from one supposedly humorous situation to another before reaching the inevitable destination.
Utah actor Patrick Fugit stars as Zia, who's depressed over a recent relationship breakup. So he decides to kill himself, hoping for a better afterlife. Instead, Zia awakens in even grayer, more drab existence. But when he discovers his ex-girlfriend, Desiree (Leslie Bibb), may have joined him there, he sets off on a quest to find her.
His somewhat reluctant companion on the road is Eugene (Shea Whigham), whose rickety car provides the transportation. And during their travels, they encounter an alluring hitchhiker (Shannyn Sossamon) and an enigmatic character named Kneller (Tom Waits) who runs a unique "refugee camp" of sorts.
Dukic's direction lacks energy, as do the performances. The normally appealing Fugit is so low-key that he's almost sleepwalking, while Sossamon barely registers.
Whigham is a little more successful. Of course, his character is based on the lively actor-musician Eugene Hutz, as well as author Etgar Keret, whose short story "Kneller's Happy Campers" inspired the film.
This theatrical version is slightly different from the version shown at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival; scenes featuring Will Arnett as a spiritual leader — which used to be one of the film's better aspects — have inexplicably been pruned.
"Wristcutters: A Love Story" is rated R for adult subject matter (suicide discussions), strong sexual language (profanity and crude slang terms), violence (suicidal acts, a stabbing, some vehicular mayhem), brief drug content (a drug overdose), brief gore and blood, and slurs based on and sexual preference. Running time: 88 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com