He's full of pent-up attitude and anger; and he's so obnoxious that the local hospital's suicidal support group doesn't even want him attending their regular meetings any more. Even his older brother Harbour (Adrian Rawlins) isn't quite sure what to do with him. He'd like to employ Wilbur in his used bookstore, which the two siblings inherited from their late father.

Harbour would also like to be able to go a week without Wilbur having one of his suicidal "episodes." The older brother has reached the age where he wants to meet a nice girl, settle down, and have a life of his own. On the advice of Moira (Julia Davis), the support group leader and hospital nurse, Wilbur moves in with Harbour, upstairs of the bookshop.

Meanwhile, Alice (Shirley Henderson), a single mum and janitor at the hospital becomes a regular visitor at the bookstore. She keeps any discarded books she can find around the hospital and sells them at the brothers' store occasionally, hence becoming familiar with Harbour and Wilbur, more so when she interrupts one of Wilbur's suicide attempts. She and Harbour get married, only to discover Harbour has health problems too, more physical than mental.

The perpetually grumpy and snarky Wilber is gradually drawn to the sensitive Alice. He doesn't much like other girls, but there's something terribly attractive about Alice. He also finds a kindred soul in Alice's young daughter, Mary (Lisa McKinlay), whose positive attitude works wonders on him. As Wilbur becomes more involved with Alice and Mary his suicidal tendencies start diminish and he begins a new lease on life. He even encounters a suicidal stranger whom he prevents from drowning at the last moment.

Set in Glasgow, the film has a gritty and pervasive realism, which lends itself well to this type of subject matter. And it's all a lot less dour and more watchable than one might expect. Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig instills her characters with a type of lovable, comical irony that effectively works as a counterpoint to the seriously grim subject matter.

The problem is that script is often too slow and it has a kind of a grayish, slow, and dull over all feel to it. The story takes too long to get off the ground, and Wilber's reasons for wanting to suicide in the first place are never really adequately explained. Most viewers will probably be annoyed that he's wasting money by needlessly chalking up the bill on the taxpayer funded National Health Service.

However, the movie is certainly worth watching for the appealing cast. One can almost believe that Sives and Rawlins are brothers, while the oft-used Henderson is solid, as usual. But the film isn't quite sure what it wants to be - It has the elements of either a weeping tragedy or a dark comedy, yet somehow finds a middle route that makes it neither.

Wilber Wants to Kill Himself offers an interesting approach to this controversial subject matter, and at times it is fairly didactic and edifying, but it's also strangely non-committal about most of the issues. The story is involving enough, but it doesn't really go anywhere until the last half-hour when Wilbur is forced to confront the realities of the world.

With his brother now dying and a woman with whom he has unaccountably fallen on love with, Wilber realizes that he must finally take on real responsibility, which actually comes as a bit of a shock. Thus, before our eyes we see him grow from a selfish, troubled, and petulant boy, into a conscientious, reliable, and dependable man. Mike Leonard May 05.

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