The title might make you think of a twisted spin on Charlotte's Web, but Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself is a very entertaining Danish wolf in Scottish sheep's clothing.  It's Lone Scherfig's follow-up to the very impressive lonely hearts club Dogme 95 film called Italian for Beginners, and – yes – the subject matter is a bit darker this time around.  Wilbur is also a marked improvement in terms of both direction and writing, especially when you consider English isn't Scherfig's first language.

The title isn't meant to be ironic:  Wilbur (Jamie Sives, TV's Glasgow Kiss) really does want to kill himself.  Badly, in fact.  He's tried a number of different ways, including a David Gest-ian downing of pills and a Sylvia Plath-esque attempt at cramming his head in the oven (but like April Burns, the gas wasn't working).  After a brief hospitalization, Wilbur is released and taken in by older brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins, Breaking the Waves), who hurriedly tries to suicide-proof his Glasgow flat, which is attached to the floundering bookstore the two have just inherited from their recently deceased father.

Wilbur and Harbour share a similar sibling juxtaposition as Terry and Sammy Prescott from You Can Count on Me.  Harbour is a responsible, productive member of society who finds himself weighted down by incredible responsibility, first to his terminally ill parents, and now to Wilbur.  Wilbur, on the other hand, is a selfish kid in a grownup's body (he works in a nursery school, because he fits in with the young 'uns).  He's rude to everyone, his recklessness makes him a chick magnet, and he's so irritating that his group therapy co-patients plead with him to "just die and give someone else a chance" for treatment.

Enter timid Alice (Shirley Henderson, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands), a single mother and hospital housekeeper who sells books she finds left behind at work to Harbour and Wilbur's shop.  Bonds are formed and Alice quickly marries Harbour, creating a warm, close family that actually improves Wilbur's outlook on life.  All seems well, with an emphasis on "seems."  There are pretty major wrenches thrown into the works, but telling you what kind of wrenches would ruin it.  Besides, you can't really expect bliss when you're talking about Harry Potter's dad (Rawlins) settling down with Moaning Myrtle (Henderson), can you?

Like recent Scottish offering Aberdeen, Wilbur is gloomy and gritty, but manages to do so without forsaking an ounce of realism.  Scherfig and co-writer/Dogme mastermind Anders Thomas Jensen, along with the three main actors, create great, memorable characters who are all very likeable (even ass-face Wilbur, who looks like a cross between Hank Azaria and Colin Farrell).  That's tough to do in a movie that, in due course, becomes as bleak as Wilbur does.  The film does grow progressively more melancholy after a fairly comedic start.  That said, the ending is almost ridiculously upbeat, considering the stuff that plays out during the final reel.  That's a minor objection, though, for a picture this enjoyable.  Dogme fans:  You'll get a kick out of Mads Mikkelsen's (Open Hearts) brief but bang-up role as one of Wilbur's therapists (he's also the only Danish actor in the film).

1:51 –

for language and some disturbing images