Movie · 2007 · Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance · 1h 28m · R · English
Curator score: 5.7/10 (111.3K ratings)
Life is a trip, but the afterlife is one hell of a ride.
Overview
Zia, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip to find her.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.7/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.71/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
Metacritic: 62
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Goran Dukić
Production
No Matter Pictures, Halcyon Pictures, Super Crispy Entertainment
Cast
Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Leslie Bibb, Mikal P. Lazarev, Mark Boone Junior, Abraham Benrubi, Mary Pat Gleason, Clayne Crawford, Anthony Azizi, Azura Skye, Nick Offerman, Sarah Roemer, John Hawkes, Tom Waits, Will Arnett, Cameron Bowen, Chase Ellison, Adam Gifford, Aaron Parker Mouser
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A scrappy, offbeat indie road movie that turns suicidal despair into a deadpan, oddly tender search for connection. Its charm comes from the concept, the low-key performances, and the melancholy humor more than from plot mechanics.
Best for
fans of dark indie comedies with a romantic core
viewers who like deadpan, lo-fi fantasy worlds
people drawn to bittersweet stories about grief, alienation, and second chances
audiences nostalgic for 2000s Sundance-era oddities
Skip if
you want a polished or high-concept fantasy world
you’re sensitive to suicide-related subject matter
you dislike dry humor and emotionally muted performances
you need a tightly plotted or especially energetic road movie
Overview
Wristcutters: A Love Story is one of those small, strange movies that feels like it wandered in from a different era of indie cinema. It imagines an afterlife for people who died by suicide as a drab, bureaucratic, slightly worse version of the real world, then uses that premise for a road trip about regret, loneliness, and the stubborn need to find someone who knew you when you were still alive inside yourself.
Worth noting
The movie’s appeal is less in spectacle than in tone. It’s funny in a dry, deadpan way, but the humor never fully cancels the sadness; instead, the two keep rubbing against each other until the film becomes unexpectedly moving. Patrick Fugit gives the story a wounded, drifting quality, and the romance has just enough sweetness to keep the film from sinking into pure gloom.
Bottom line
It’s also very much a product of mid-2000s indie sensibilities: handmade, a little twee, a little grimy, and comfortable being weird without explaining itself too much. If that specific blend of melancholy and whimsy works for you, this is an easy recommendation. If not, the film’s slack pace and morbid premise may feel more precious than profound.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Sam (3.5★) · 1660 likes
im such a simp for the last 15 seconds of this movie
HHREVIEW (4★) · 1139 likes
“Everybody knows guy in the back seat doesn’t have a cock”
Julia (5★) · 839 likes
I would go to purgatory twice over to be topped by a goth girl with a shaggy pixie cut
Silent J (5★) · 809 likes
We all know the common religious belief that if you're a good stand-up person you go to Heaven and if you're a cunty prick you go to Hell, but where do you go if you commit suicide? I mean, commiting suicide is never the best option, but it doesn't make the person bad or good and they don't necessarily have to be bad or good; it just means they had it rough and couldn't go forward. What happens to that… more We all know the common religious belief that if you're a good stand-up person you go to Heaven and if you're a cunty prick you go to Hell, but where do you go if you commit suicide? I mean, commiting suicide is never the best option, but it doesn't make the person bad or good and they don't necessarily have to be bad or good; it just means they had it rough and couldn't go forward. What happens to that… more
2006 · Drama, Comedy, Romance · 1h 53m · PG-13 · Curator 5.7/10 (415.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A gentle, existential comedy about mortality and the search for meaning in an ordinary life.