Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.

Director:

Goran Dukic

Writers:

Goran Dukic, Etgar Keret (novel)

Stars:

Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, Tom Waits

9 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Arnett	...	Messiah
Abraham Benrubi	...	Erik
Leslie Bibb	...	Desiree
Mark Boone Junior	...	Mike (as Mark Boone Jr.)
Cameron Bowen	...	Kostya
Clayne Crawford	...	Jim
Chase Ellison	...	Kid Kostya
Patrick Fugit	...	Zia
Adam Gifford	...	Gas Station Attendant (as Adam G.)
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Eugene's Mother
John Hawkes	...	Yan
Mikal P. Lazarev	...	Nanuk
Aaron Parker Mouser	...	Max (as Aaron Mouser)
Nick Offerman	...	Cop
Anatol Rezmeritza	...	Eugene's Father

Storyline

Despondent over his breakup with Desiree, Zia slashes his wrists and goes to an afterlife peopled by suicides, a high-desert landscape dotted by old tires, burned-out cars, and abandoned sofas. He gets a job in a pizza joint. By chance, Zia learns that Desiree offed herself a few months after he did, and she's looking for him. He sets off with Eugene (an electrocuted Russian rocker) to find her, and they pick up a hitchhiker, Mikal, who's looking for the People in Charge, believing she's there by mistake. They're soon at the camp of Kneller, where casual miracles proliferate. They hear rumors of a miraculous king. Can Zia find Desiree? Then what? Where there's death there's hope.

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Plot Keywords:

suicide | hitchhiker | afterlife | road trip | black hole | 

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Taglines:

You don't know what you have until you lose it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and disturbing content involving suicide

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eugene (Shea Whigham) isn't smoking pot throughout the film, he's actually smoking tobacco cigarettes. Actor Whigham noticed director Goran Dukic smoked loose tobacco and rolled his own cigarettes and carried it in a plastic bag, and said that's what he wanted Eugene to smoke.

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Goofs

When Kneller finds Mikal and Zia sleeping on the beach, we see a needle poking through Zia's shirt. In the next shot, the needle is gone. (A short scene of dialogue where Zia takes the needle out of his shirt was edited out.)

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Quotes

Kneller: Once upon a time there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. And they grew next to each other. And every day the straight tree would look at the crooked tree and he would say, "You're crooked. You've always been crooked and you'll continue to be crooked. But look at me! Look at me!" said the straight tree. He said, "I'm tall and I'm straight." And then one day the lumberjacks came into the forest and looked around, and the manager in charge said, "Cut all the straight trees." And that crooked...

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Connections

Referenced in Blood and Guts with Scott Ian: Scott Ian Gets His Face Knifed by Rob Hall (2012)

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Soundtracks

Love Will Tear Us Apart
Written by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner
Performed by Joy Division
Courtesy Warner Bros. Records
By Arrangement with WMG Film and TV Licensing

User Reviews

Although dark, oddly uplifting

Bleak film of death and a depressing afterlife. Lots of nice little touches, like with the music - you only pick up on it after talking with people about it. From what I understand not completely faithful to the book, although I didn't read it. Good humor, oddly uplifting due to the romance.

Saw this at Sundance this year, was one of the 3 best we saw. Patrick Fugit was brilliant. Shannon was also strong. If you like dark films, you won't be disappointed. Can't comment on technical aspects of film, since i'm not in the industry.

Summary: Great cast, good writing. Fun times by all.

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

2 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wristcutters: A Love Story

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,808, 21 October 2007

Gross USA:

$446,165

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$454,026

Company Credits

Production Co:

No Matter Pictures, Crispy Films, Adam Sherman

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1