Wristcutters (2006)
Director: Goran Dukic
Writer: Goran Dukic and Etgar Keret
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
Story
Zia (Patrick Fugit) and his girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) breakup and Zia decides to end it all by slitting his wrists. He ends up in a strange after life world designed for people who have killed themselves. As he learns to deal with the new misery he experiences in this world he learns that Desiree actually committed suicide as well and was looking for him. He and his new friend Eugene (Shea Whigham) set out to find Desiree in the vast world they are in. Along the way they find Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon) and she joins the group so she can hopefully find the “people in charge” because she feels she is there by mistake.
Everything Else
The directing of Wristcutters was solid in almost all respects. Although this movie was one which is not likely to have a wide audience, it was quite surprisingly good. The music is very fitting with most of the music made by bands that experienced suicide in one form or another at some point. This seems all to appropriate considering the world the story is set in is for people who have “offed” themselves.
The camera moves gracefully and the scenery is good, but there is not a lot to really stand out in those respects; it is just good clean camera work and location use. The real genius comes form the script and the directing of the character interactions. The dialogue is witty and made me laugh out loud a few times. The interactions between the characters is odd in a good way as they are not allowed to smile in the world they are in and everything is a little off. The flow of the humor with the romance and drama of the film works well.
The acting was great from Patrick Fugit especially. I liked him in Almost Famous and think he needs to start getting larger roles like this in more mainstream movies. Tom Waits makes an appearance as Kneller; he always does a good job and provides a little bit of humor himself. Shea Whigham holds his own as Eugene and makes for an interesting supporting role along with Shannyn Sossamon throughout most of the film. The acting was quirky, but fit the script and directing perfectly which is all you can really ask for.
The Real Deal
I did not expect Wristcutters to be any good to be honest, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story feels fresh and original and the dialogue stood out as being quite good. I also enjoyed the music how it was mixed in and the dry humor delivered flawlessly by the acting. There is enough language to get the R rating without the violence, but there was also some of that to go around. You have to see the comedy in it early on or the suicides may be a bit gruesome for you. Wristcutters was a refreshing comedy with enough romance and drama to make it more serious and yet keep enough humor to have me laughing throughout. This may be more of an artsy film than a mainstream one, but in my book that is a good thing.
The Short Version
Raw Score: 802,303
Sharon Movie? No
5/15/2008
Wristcutters (2006)
1/10/2008
A Movie For Music Lovers
Once (2006)
Brief Detail
Director: John Carney
Writer: John Carney
Release Date: March 23rd 2007 (Ireland)
Genre: Drama
Plot
Once is about a street musician (Glen Hansard) that has recently had his heart broken by the love of his life. One night he has a chance meeting with a girl (Markéta Irglová) who plays the piano and they hit it off pretty well. The two start hanging out and playing music together and end up recording some songs together.
The story experiments with the way that music can bond people and help people get through tough times. This story is quite compelling for someone who loves music or someone who likes great independent films.
Performance
The main actor (Glen Hansard) does a great job. It would seem that Hansard is not just an actor, but actually a musician as well. Hansard does a great job expressing different emotions throughout and makes for a very believable street musician. A typical guy who doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but his emotion is channeled through his music. Music is his passion which is obvious from just the look of his guitar. The costar actress (Markéta Irglová) does a phenomenal job as well. Irglová performs much like Hansard in that she shows a range of emotion, but with the emotional aspect that you would expect for a girl. She shows emotion, but expresses herself more through the music. The acting in the movie points straight to the heart of the film; music. Music is the focus and the acting only demonstrates how music can help people come together and express themselves in such a powerful way.
Cinematography
There was simply no cinematography in this movie. The movie was indeed about the music, which makes the lack of cinematography that much more significant. The absence of visual magnificence deepens the focus of the film on the auditory experience. Once was shot mostly with low quality cameras that had poor low light performance. It often seems that proper lighting was not even considered during the making of the film.
Directing
The director (John Carney) does a great job with the actors to make the film have an almost eerie realism. Anyone who has been involved with music will notice how real and believable the musical connection between the two is. Although the two seem to have a difficult time expressing themselves by talking, the music makes everything clear. Without much dialogue you can discern how the characters are feeling and the life they have been through because the music says it all.
The Real Deal
This movie was a chance pick up for me as it was on the new release wall at Blockbuster. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes good movies that break the normal mold for a film or anyone who is interested in music. Although the visual aspect of the film will not impress anyone it has a purpose that actually adds to the focus of the film. Once is a film that I was glad that I did not miss out on.
The Short Version
Raw Score: 843,749
Sharon Movie? Yes
