Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

I have seen this listed under comedy, but the material is so dark and downbeat that even when comedy is intended, it is difficult to see the humor in the situation. Not only is it downbeat material wise, but even the cinematography follows suit. Much of the film is in surroundings such as an old dusty bookshop which is not well lit. I think it takes a special viewer to find the humor in this film, or even to be entertained by it.

Another black comedy, and the title describes it well. Mads Mikkelsen has a small but important role as a psychologist. Must be one of his earlier films.

This has the most wonderful cast, on-site locations, really quirky plot line and did I mention Jamie Sives? You should really watch this even though the accents have to be cut with a butter knife.

really good movie!

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (Lone Scherfig, 2002)Why is it, exactly, that some movies that would really be helped by subtitles don't have them, while others do? Scots films, in particular, are notorious for this. My Name Is Joe, Peter Mullan's fantastic flick, was first released without them, but someone figured out right quick that the American release suffered because ninety percent of the audience had no earthy idea what Mullan was saying most of the time. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself suffers the same way, except no one rectified the error upon the release of the DVD. While you will (hopefully) eventually pick up the accents, unless you are well-used to a thick brogue, you may not be able to figure out what anyone's on about for the first ten or fifteen minutes of this movie. That's a crime, because if you stop watching, you will miss a minor gem of a film.Harbour (Adrian Rawlins of the Harry Potter franchise) and Wilbur (Love and Other Disasters's Jamie Sives) are brothers who run a bookshop in Glasgow that they inherited from their father. Wilbur, in case you didn't figure it out from the title, is suicidal. Ah, the angst! The brothers are thrown into an uproar when Alice (Shirley Hendersonof the Bridget Jones movies) comes in to sell some books left by patients at the local hospital, where she works (and Wilbur is a frequent guest). Both Harbour and Wilbur fall for her, and her daughter Mary (Lisa McKinlay in her first film role), a bookworm, is enchanted with the store. Soon there's romance, there's drama, there's the well-meaning Alice trying to teach Wilbur how to behave around women so he can land one of the nurses in the suicide ward, who's shown some interest in him, there's Horst (the wonderful Mads Mikkelsen), Wilbur's doctor, there's... oh, just see it.I opined in my review of Tsotsi about the difference between, in essence, a Lifetime Original Movie and a really good chick flick. Wilbur is a very good example of the latter; the comedy is actually funny, the drama is dramatic (unless it's being played for laughs, like Wilbur's angst), the redemption of the main character feels natural, as opposed to feeling like the product of emotional manipulation. There's a turning point in the film where Wilbur, walking around trying to clear the confusion out of his head, spies a suicide jumping into the river in a place where he had done so before; he jumps in after her and pulls her out. There are so many ways this scene could have gone wrong. Wilbur doesn't eulogize about how he used to be just like her. She doesn't have a sudden change of heart. When Wilbur gets home, covered in water and river grime, and Alice asks him where he's been, the conversation is handled in the most wonderful way possible (it's one of the films' funniest and most understated moments). Scherfig, who co-wrote the film with Anders Thomas Jensen (who would go on to direct the excellent The Green Butchers the same year), really has the touch. And it's just twisted enough that the guys will like it too. ****

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.

Apart from the small matter that the film is set and shot in Glasgow, not Edinburgh as the product description would have you believe, the plot summary provided tells you as much as you need to know. This is a charming and thought provoking film which succeeds thanks to the excellent performances of the cast. The biggest name is probably Mads Mikkelsen who is hugely enjoyable in a relatively small supporting role as the psychiatrist working with Wilbur after yet another suicide attempt. The only other familiar name, for me at any rate, is Shirley Henderson who is solid as ever. Jamie Sives and Adrian Rawlins who play the brothers Wilbur and Harbour are both excellent, but I must admit that I had never heard of either of them before seeing them in this.The title should already give you a hint that this is not a laugh out loud comedy. In fact, I'm not sure if I'd class the film as a comedy at all. What humour there is, is rather dark and very restrained. Wilbur of the title is a bit of a hunk, women like him, but he has a startling history of attempted suicide, not so much because he actually wants to die but rather because he doesn't really want to live. The viewer gets the impression that he does it out of habit, almost like a hobby. Only well into the film do we learn what causes Wilbur's mental problems and start to understand him and why his brother Harbour supports him so selflessly. It's a bittersweet story, and the Celtic gloom of Glasgow and the cavernous bookshop where Wilbur and Harbour live makes for an atmospheric backdrop. The acting is excellent throughout. I absolutely loved the film, but it may not appeal to everybody or at all times. If you like slow and quiet films, it's perfect, if you're feeling down and are looking for a fluffy feelgood film to cheer you up, it may not be the film for you just now.The DVD is good. English subtitles are available for those who may need them and the following extra features are included:~~~ Cast and Crew Interviews~~~ Deleted Scenes~~~ Out-takes~~~ Trailer~~~ TV and Radio Spots

Christ! At time this film can be horribly depressing....but is pebble-dashed with get moments of comedy (especially the scene in the restaurant)just as some bad news has been broken. It's bleak, odd and very touching. A story of 2 brothers who run a book shop. Wilber wants to kill himself most of the time whilst his brother does all the work. Romance blossoms with the arrival of a mother and her child as well as the supporting cast of oddballs and misunderstood people, including the rather hostile and dysfunctional suicide group. It's certainly not a laugh a minute film but it's a great drama and has plenty of dark, funny moments.

This is a fun film. The subject matter is dark but witty; the budget was obviously small and so the production focuses on telling a simple story and doing so well.It's one of those films that could almost just as well have been a stage play. You won't find any CGI graphics and big star names in this film. If you enjoy good storytelling and you ever find yourself laughing at something and then thinking "um, that's not funny", then you might well like this film.

Unusual topic for a film but surprisingly entertaining and with a twist at the end. Worth a watch and well directed by Lone Scherfig who followed on with her next films, An Education, and then One Day.

I believe the title of this film puts a lot of people off, but the film is really a great black comedy with a splash of added romance. A great Scottish cast put in some fine performances to portray the lives of brothers Wilbur (compulsively suicidal but witty) and Harbour (the older, reliable one) who are left to run their father's Glasgow bookshop when he dies. Add love interest Alice and things get quite interesting as a love triange develops. This film takes an alternative, dark and witty look at the tough topic of suicide but never gets depressing and there are many laugh-out loud moments interspersed to keep the mood light. The film was shown at the 57th Edinburgh International Film Festival and after watching it I tried to convince everyone I know to go and see it! Fans of black comedy will not be disappointed.