2.5 out of 5 stars

Purgatory. The idea of it always scared the hell out of me. I imagined it as a sort of “nothing space” between realities, where there’s no good, no bad, and thus, no ability to feel. Wristcutters: A Love Story captures this idea perfectly, and that’s not really a good thing, and it’s not really a bad thing; it’s just purgatory.

Wristcutters is the story of life after suicide, where the lead Zia (Patrick Fugit of Almost Famous) slits his wrists in the opening scene, only to find himself still very much alive in a destitute and dull urban sprawl. He soon begins a journey in search of his girlfriend, who apparently killed herself shortly after he did, and along the way meets a Russian guitarist Eugene (Shea Whigham) and Mikal (A Knight’s Tale‘s Shannyn Sossamon), a woman in search of the “People In Charge,” having ended up here by mistake.

Now I’m well aware how depressing this sounds, but the film is more quirky than anything else. Awkward moments are made so much more so by the fact that all the residents of this afterlife are physically incapable of smiling. And, considering the rising popularity of deadpan humor from shows like Arrested Development and The Office over the last few years, some will be in stitches over the sheer strangeness of it all. One montage of cars driving away from a gas station with the pumps still attached, causing them to snap off, is odd to the point that you can’t keep a smirk off your face.

That being said, the movie’s humor is so dry, so understated, that for many it will simply be too odd to laugh most of the time. There are conversations in this movie about cottage cheese, black holes that appear under the car seat and throat singing, and sometimes I’m just staring at the screen without an emotion to show for it.

Of course, that also happens to be at the heart of what this movie does best, which is impart to the audience a sense of profound sedation about life. You don’t feel very happy about what’s going on, but you don’t feel very unhappy about it either, and in that way you can sympathize with the characters on a rather fascinating level. There are several love stories going on throughout the film, and while they’re all genuine, the character’s expressions are absolute stonewalls. And this is in part thanks to the film’s cast, which is also well-rounded by actors Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory) and music legend Tom Waits, both adding their classic brands of weird comedy.

The movie also uses this feeling of sedation to help people understand the kind of mindset that arises from those with suicidal tendencies, in that the reason they kill themselves is because of this feeling of dullness, of trying to care but not being able to succeed. In that sense, the film’s three leads make for a positive message — they’re all in search of something to care about in their lives, and they never stop trying to carve out something for themselves, even in purgatory.

The film’s utter disengagement from reality also works against it. Even for people who like weird art films such as this, Wristcutters will feel painfully slow and dry at times. Movie reviewers like myself are supposed to have attention spans of iron, but even I felt my eyelids flutter every now and then.

For those looking for an offbeat and clever film with a little bit of message in it, give Wristcutters a slice (get it?) of your time. For the average viewer, it can be an OK, even enjoyable, way to kill time, but not more than once. And I’d recommend going with a group of friends, as quirky comedies are always a little funnier with a group of people experiencing the same sense of weird you are.