Wristcutters: A Love Story

As far as love stories go, it is a hard-pressed task to find one which doesn't leave you with the curious sensation of having sat through an excruciatingly painful ordeal. If not that, they often elicit feelings of tense awkwardness due to the usually-inevitable romance scenes.

As the title suggests, however, "Wristcutters: A Love Story," written and directed by Goran Dukic, may stray somewhat from the love film paradigm. Craftily put together through a combination of peculiar characters, even more peculiar scenes and a dryly quizzical script, "Wristcutters" will, if anything, induce feelings of complacent nostalgia for all held dear.

The story follows the journey of Zia (Patrick Fugit), a love-torn suicide, in his afterlife which, he discovers, is just his life as he had desperately tried to abandon it, only a little worse. Working at "Pizza Kamikaze" and living in a crumbled-down apartment with a roommate with who his only interaction is limited to griping about cottage cheese, Zia does nothing but relentlessly reflect on his failed relationship with Desiree (Leslie Bibb).

After an indeterminable time lapse, Zia happens upon a chance encounter with a former friend from whom he learns of Desiree's unfortunate, yet-fortunate-for-him, suicide. Imbued with a sense of newfound purpose, Zia sets off with his Russian-Rocker friend (Shea Whigham) in hopes of reconquering his lost love.

Here, however, is where the cliche love storyline culminates.

Bumbling along in a beat-up, old red car with dysfunctional headlights, the pair travels vast distances in the land of suicides searching for Desiree, along the way picking up an inquisitive young hitchiker (Shannyn Sossamon) in pursuit of her own mission. Together, the group encounters many outlandish incidents and meets seemingly apathetic people, all engulfed by the obsoleteness of the afterlife.

Yet for such a somber topic and setting, the film's array of humorous events and lines manages to keep the viewer in a hopeful, if not downright merry, mood. It is worth mentioning as well, that throughout the whole hour-and-a-half film, you never catch so much as a faint smile; in the land of suicides, apparently, smiling is physically impossible. But once again, it goes unnoticed for the entire duration of the movie, which is quite a feat.

All in all, this movie is recommended as a film for those looking for a love story diverging a little from the ordinary. Filled with unordinary concepts and carrying a dream-like quality throughout, it leaves the viewer with a fresh perspective on love and the afterlife.