Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF - DVD Movie

That rare thing, decency, shines out of Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), a wonderful and dark-humored comedy about a would-be suicide. The depressive Wilbur (Jamie Sives) is the opposite of his big-hearted brother, Harbour (Adrian Rawlins), yet he remains irresistible to women--including Harbour's new live-in girlfriend. Director Lone Scherfig uses the gray-skied Edinburgh location in much the same way she did her native Denmark in the terrific Italian for Beginners; the gloomy setting belies the vaguely magical things that might happen to the characters. Scherfig knows just how to balance different tones (and in a comedy about a suicidal man, she has to), and she's great with actors, even in small roles. Special standouts here are the beaming Rawlins and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (King Arthur), as a stoical, chain-smoking doctor. How nice it is to see a movie that makes you feel good without coming on all icky about it. --Robert Horton