Review #309: 'Withnail & I' (1987)

"We've gone on holiday by mistake!". This line, spoken by Richard E. Grant's flamboyant and tragic alcoholic Withnail, sums up this cult British masterpiece. Made on a shoe-string budget (partly funded by George Harrison), Withnail & I has gained momentum in the last decade or so, and is now considered a British classic and certainly one of the greatest comedies made in the last thirty years or so. It tells the story of two hard-drinking, out-of-work thespians living in their filthy London flat awaiting that call from their agent that will inevitably break them. Tired and consumed by the misery of 1969 London, 'I' (often referred to as 'Marwood', played by Paul McGann) persuades Withnail to travel to the remote cottage in the Lake District owned by Withnail's outlandishly homosexual Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths).

The two city-dwellers struggle with survival, poverty and the aggression of the locals, until Monty arrives in a comical scene where the two think that a threatening poacher has broken in to kill them. Withnail is happy sponging off his Uncle while I remains terrified and uncomfortable at Monty's increasingly aggressive sexual advances. While this hardly sounds like a barrel of laughs, writer/director Bruce Robinson's script (based on his personal experiences) is chocked full of great, quotable lines, as well as genuinely beautiful wordplay. While the film has become the focus of many an annoying student who enjoy playing the 'Withnail Drinking Game', I refuse to let this ruin my absolute love for this truly stunning film.

While the comedy is what it is ultimately remembered for, Withnail & I is also a sober and quite depressing portrayal of the death of 'the greatest decade known to man'. Danny the drug dealer (played brilliantly by Ralph Brown) sums it up when he says "they're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths, man." 'I' is truly disillusioned by his surroundings, and often the film feels like a massive comedown from the colossal high of the 1960's. This is apparent straight away, as the first scene depicts 'I' slumped on a chair, his eyes tired and red after a massive speed binge, painfully toking down a joint while the soundtrack plays a wailing saxophone.

But Withnail & I is remembered for it's comedy for a reason. There are literally too many great lines to quote, but my personal favourites have to be "why has my head gone numb?"/""why'd you drug their onions!?"/"here, hare, here? Here, hare, here!"/"flowers are merely tarts, prostitutes for the bees!"/"fork it!"/"we're going to buy this place, and install a fucking jukebox in here, liven you stiffs up a bit!". I'll stop now, as I can literally quote the entire film. These lines, as great as they are, wouldn't be half as good if they didn't have great actors saying them. Grant always gets the plaudits (and considered he is teetotal, his performance is truly great), but Paul McGann's equally impressive performance is understated and ultimately underrated. And Griffiths injects an air of tragedy into the nostalgia-filled and lonely Monty, who poetically remembers his times at Oxford when his life was once full of excitement and feeling.

I could literally talk about this film for hours, I love it that much. Every time I see it I notice another visual gag, another verbal joke, or another line of beauty that I failed to grasp the previous times. And never has a film moved me so much every time I view it, when, at the climax, Withnail quotes Hamlet while slumped over a railing, wine bottle in hand, rain hammering onto his umbrella. Truly exquisite, exciting, personal film-making, and one that will forever remain one of my personal favourites.


Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Starring: Paul McGann, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown
Country: UK

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie