Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

Stuart:

It’s been ages since I’ve seen a film filled with such fantastic actors. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself has a superb cast – a case of acting ability, script writing and direction all coming into place. The entire cast is great, from young Lisa McKinlay to Adrian Rawlins. All get their chance to shine, from the stoic German doctor Mad Mikkelsen to the strangely serene Wilbur himself. It’s good to see Shirley Henderson in a decent film, mainly because I recently saw her in Hypnotic (Doctor Sleep).

There is a good sized serving of sentimentality in this film, but it’s never overdone. You truly feel for these characters, even if they are slightly larger than life. The frame is always filled with wonderful colours – the cluttered surrounds perfectly compliment the strange situation the characters find themselves in.

The film seemed to put me in mind of a piece of theatre rather than a film, and this could have to do with the standard of the thespians concerned. It certainly could have been put on stage (and maybe if I did some research I’d find out that it is based on a play – or has been in that form at some stage or other… but I really can’t be bothered to do any research. Mark, are you busy? Snap to it!).

The complex issues often seem to have simple solutions, but that doesn’t make Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself any less of an achievement.

Rating: 4 stars
Review by Stuart Wilson, 11th September 2004
Hoopla Factor: 4 stars


AVP: Alien Vs. Predator Catwoman