Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

The chronically suicidal Wilbur (Jamie Sives of GLASGOW KISS) and his good-hearted big brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins of BREAKING THE WAVES) are in their thirties, when their father dies, leaving them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in Glasgow. Wilbur survives yet another suicide attempt and goes to hospital, where he meets Horst (Mads Mikkelsen of OPEN HEARTS), a cynical psychologist and his empathic head nurse, Moira (Julia Davis of BIG TRAIN). Like Harbour, they believe that Wilbur needs a girlfriend. But even though women fall for Wilbur all the time, they can't get close to him. In fact, it's Harbour who falls in love when a shy and intense woman, Alice (Shirley Henderson of 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY), enters the lives of the brothers. Alice lives a life in isolation with her little daughter, Mary. She supplements her job as a cleaning lady at the hospital's surgical ward, selling books that the patients have left behind. Little by little, Wilbur, Harbour and Alice become inseparable. Wilbur starts regaining his lust for life, Alice starts to come out of her shell, and Mary starts reading the thousands of books in the second-hand bookshop. Harbour has never been happier, but he carries a deep secret that threatens to surface.
"A smart and -- ultimately, surprisingly -- sweet film." ~ Stephen Whitty, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER
"The new film by the Danish director Lone Scherfig, which begins with a suicide attempt and ends in a graveyard, makes you glad to be alive." ~ A.O. Scott, NEW YORK TIMES
"Don't be put off by the title. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself -- director Lone Scherfig's follow-up to Italian for Beginners -- deals with suicide and terminal illness, but she manages to keep the proceedings light and airy." ~ V.A. Musetto, NEW YORK POST
"Wilbur is wonderfully acted and about as original a film as we've seen this year or last." ~ John Anderson, NEWSDAY