1987 Directed by Bruce Robinson
Two out-of-work actors -- the anxious, luckless Marwood and his acerbic, alcoholic friend, Withnail -- spend their days drifting between their squalid flat, the unemployment office and the pub. When they take a holiday "by mistake" at the country house of Withnail's flamboyantly gay uncle, Monty, they encounter the unpleasant side of the English countryside: tedium, terrifying locals and torrential rain.
Withnail and I, Withnail og jeg
Something happens sometimes when I start a movie. I can't describe exactly how it happens or why, but sometimes I just know from 30 seconds in that I'm going to love a movie. That's what happened in the case of Withnail & I.
How I missed this one for so long is totally beyond me. A slacker film before slacker films were cool, it's equal parts hipster and pathetic (is there really even a difference?).
Watching it I feel a little like it's the strange cousin film to Naked.
I should probably say something about how funny this movie is and how the comedy comes from everywhere. In one scene it's funny because it seems to be the lost scene from…
shoutout to every single english fucker who told me this was funny when i am now, in fact, very sad
Despite being the début feature film for both Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, it subsequently worked out quite differently for them both. It is some performance by Grant given this was only his second outing in front of the camera. He absolutely dominates every scene he takes part in, even the ones where he is relatively quiet because you expect a flailing, expletive driven rant at any second.
McGann proves to be the perfect foil, nervously trying to keep a grip on his ever increasing paranoia barracking his mind. His more subdued role didn't define him anywhere near as much as Withnail and even though Grant went on to work with directors such as Coppolla and Scorcese this character…
i love when gays are homophobic towards each other. it’s almost like a girlboss moment
I like my substance abuse surrounded by dry British humour (though I'm not really a fan of Trainspotting). Withnail & I is full of narcissism, paranoia and gleeful disobedience but also a sense of despair - an understanding this lifestyle is unsustainable and self-destructive - adding the pathos that makes a comedy last. You can tell it was based on real experiences (of the writer-director, Bruce Robinson, who hasn't done that many films, but I really need to check out How to Get Ahead in Advertising), especially some of the gags about washing up. Good performances from Paul McGan, Richard E. Grant, and Richard Griffiths (who you may recognise from the Harry Potter films) give weight to a script that is narratively thin, but character-rich.
Ah, Withnail. Like most of my peers, I watched this too many times to count between the ages of 18 and 21, but without ever really appreciating the currents of desperation and despair that flow through the film, or just how poignant their consummation is. It was always on in the background when you went round to someone's place, and what emerged through the fug of inebriation were the endless quotable lines, Richard E. Grant's manic shrieking, Uncle Monty's bombast, Danny's "Camberwell carrot". All of which is no less enjoyable today than it was then. Behind all that nonsense though, is a film about endings, or transitions, and an elegy for those left stranded when the tide of history ebbs.…
the worst possible vibes going on here. two evil feral men who look like they need a bath. like a british mikey and nicky. absolutely rancid film but oh my god i loved it
This must be HILARIOUS if you're british and understand what the fuck they're talking about.
*any still inconvenience happens in my life*
me: "i must have some booze. I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BOOZE"
just peerlessly good, also
1) insane how much of a baby richard e grant is in this and
2) all-timer of a richard griffiths performance
