Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2004)
81%RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 21 nominations
Lone Scherfig’s Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself is a delightful and quirky film that explores the complexities of human relationships and the taboo topic of suicide with a deft touch. Scherfig’s direction is masterful, balancing the film’s melancholic tone with moments of humor and humanity. The film’s eccentric characters, particularly Wilbur, are initially off-putting but become increasingly sympathetic as the story unfolds. While the film may not be for everyone, those who appreciate indie films with well-drawn characters and unexpected plot twists will find much to enjoy in Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself is a quirky little film that manages to balance dark themes with a touch of humor and heart. The characters are eccentric and offbeat, but ultimately endearing in their own way. It’s a love triangle that involves suicide and bookstores, which sounds like a recipe for disaster, but somehow it all works. Lone Scherfig’s direction is masterful, and the unexpected plot twists keep you engaged until the end. Overall, it’s a movie that’s worth seeing, even if it’s just for the comic melancholy and the raw complexity of real human emotion.
Production Company(ies)
Alexander Nanau Production, Samsa Film, HBO Europe,
Distributor
ThinkFilm
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some disturbing images
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 46m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 28, 2004
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Adrian Rawlins, Jamie Sives, Shirley Henderson, Lisa McKinlay, Mads Mikkelsen, Julia Davis, directed by Lone Scherfig, written by Anders Thomas Jensen, Comedy, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Roger Moore, Rene Rodriguez, Bob Longino, Erik Lundegaard, Tom Long, John Monaghan, Yasser Medina, Lisa Rosman, Jason Gorber, Philip Martin, Cherryl Dawson, Leigh Ann Palone, MPAA rating R, bookstore, suicide, hospital cleaning lady, inheritance, love triangle, family, death, grief, dark comedy, original language English, produced by Gillian Berrie, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Worldwide gross: $1,873,482
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,107,287
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,308
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 338,854
US/Canada gross: $235,294
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $390,250
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,390
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,747
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $22,800
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,465
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $4,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $6,634,250
Production budget ranking: 1,815
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,572,544
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$7,099,507
ROI to date (est.): -70%
ROI ranking: 1,804
Adrian Rawlins – Harbour
Shirley Henderson – Alice
Lisa McKinlay – Mary
Mads Mikkelsen – Horst
Julia Davis – Moira
Director(s)
Lone Scherfig
Writer(s)
Anders Thomas Jensen
Producer(s)
Gillian Berrie, Sisse Graum Jørgensen
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 21 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (13)
Pretty enjoyable.
May 21, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Scherfig shows a flair for comic melancholy … as well as eccentric characters like Wilbur, who initially comes across as off-putting and self-obsessed, but later becomes, if not exactly warm, at least sympathetic.
May 14, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Wilbur has the ability to suck you in, to make you cheer on the strangest of indulgent families.
May 13, 2004 | Rating: B-
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
Unexpected plot twists keep us interested.
May 7, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
Erik Lundegaard
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Worth seeing.
May 7, 2004 | Rating: B+
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Though Scherfig is still partially enrolled in the Dogme school, her movie finds a happy balance with its equally adept eye for wide-screen composition and the raw complexity of real human emotion.
May 7, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
With the portrait of the suicidal lover, Scherfig searches for an irony that loses its ingenuity when the melodrama makes sense and leaves the main text in a kind of reductionist void. [Full review in Spanish]
August 5, 2020 | Rating: 6/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
What’s most intriguing about director Lone Scherfig’s first post-Dogme 95 feature, the admittedly appealing Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, is where and how it falls short.
July 25, 2017
Lisa Rosman
The Brooklyn Rail
A nice little love triangle drama-comedy about suicide and bookstores.
June 21, 2007 | Rating: B-
Jason Gorber
Film Scouts
…the kind of picture one is more inclined to admire than embrace
January 29, 2005 | Rating: B
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lone Scherfig has masterfully combined rather dark, serious topics with a little humor and a lot of humanity.
January 24, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com
Scherfig presents the message with a creative flair that will appeal to indie film lovers who appreciate well drawn characters
August 29, 2004 | Rating: B-
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews…
Plot
The good-hearted Harbour has spent his whole life trying to take care of his motherless and suicidal little brother, Wilbur. The brothers are inseparable. When in their thirties, they lose their father and inherit his second-hand bookshop. One day Alice enters the shop with her little daughter. Alice is a cleaning lady at the nearby hospital and she sells the books that the patients leave behind. The daughter Mary yearns for a home where the books don’t always get sold. Harbour falls in love with Alice and soon all four of them are closely intertwined in each other’s lives – and perhaps even deaths.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Shirley Henderson, who plays Alice in the film, is known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter franchise.
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