Underneath the bigger Oscar-grubbing flicks coming out this time of year are smaller, more oddball films that may be a little rough around the edges, but bring the viewer a joyful experience that transcends any of the film's flaws. Wristcutters: A Love Story"" falls into this category, delivering what at times seems to be an unpolished experience that is a delight to watch.
The film revolves around limbo, specifically the level of limbo reserved for suicides. Zia, played by Patrick Fugit of ""Almost Famous,"" discovers the dreary, depressing world reserved for those who ""off themselves"" after his own suicide, the title wrist cutting. Here he meets Eugene, a Russian would-be rock star who killed himself on stage to prove a point to a booing crowd. When Zia hears from another recent arrival that his girlfriend Desiree has killed herself, he convinces Eugene to hop in his beat-up station wagon to search for her in the surrounding wastes.
Along the way, they meet a hitchhiker named Mikal who insists she doesn't belong in their world. She's obsessed with finding the people in charge to correct her situation. As they continue their search, they run into stranger and stranger characters, including Kneller, the leader of an illegal camp for miracle workers and the leader of a cult that calls himself the ""Messiah"" - reminiscent of Will Arnett's ""Arrest Development"" role.
If the story sounds abstract, that's because the plot is at the mercy of conceptual themes reflecting on the nature of death and suicide and thus becomes more and more nonsensical as the film comes to a head. It's a film that makes more sense in the car on the way home than in the theater.
The characters make the film. Eugene is the archetypal citizen to this horrible place. He is an asshole, disregarding feelings, decency and basic safety as he delivers harsh truths and drives Zia on his journey with a beer in one hand and the steering wheel in the other. Then there's Mikal, whose bright red sweater and relatively cheery disposition are constant reminders of how horrible limbo is, and Zia, who is practically erased by his experience in the world of the living and beyond. Throw all three in a tiny car, and it makes for some hysterical conversations.
But the best character is limbo itself. Shot exclusively in browns and grays, limbo is a world of urban waste and desert, abandoned warehouses and suspended electrical wires. The world embodies the darkness and despair that everyone in it seems to feel in their souls, and in a film where everything abstract has been made material, crafting a world that visually represents all its citizens' misery is a beautifully executed feat that really pulls the film together.
The humor of the film is most definitely rooted in the absurd. From the black hole under the passenger seat that keeps devouring Eugene's shades to the beach covered in the needles and used condoms of every down-and-out prostitute and junkie, the film has a dark humor that isn't for everyone. And the finale, while beautiful, does not make sense on any regular plane of plot structure or reality. However, if serious matters make you giggle, this film may be for you.
