Withnail & I (1987) User Reviews (255)

British film-making at its best.

[pjcarline · 9/10 · 19 November 2001]

Camden, 1969. Two unemployed actors, Withnail (Richard E Grant), and I (Paul McGann), are facing up to the reality of an empty wine cellar and a harsh comedown following a speed binge. Squalid living conditions and the prospect of life on the poverty line leads 'I' (otherwise known as Marwood), to suggest a rejuvenating break in the Lake District. After Withnail manages to persuade his bizarre uncle, Monty (Richard Griffiths) to part with the keys of his dilapidated cottage, the take the Jag north for a taste of country life.

Adapting to such an alien environment is an initial challenge to the highly strung Withnail; his predicament is significantly worsened following an altercation with poacher Jake (Michael Elphick). Meanwhile, Marwood is forced to concentrate his attentions to fending off the advances of the lecherous Monty, who has inconveniently come to stay.

Following an awkward evening, the pair hurriedly return to London and, after a run-in with the Metropolitan Police, return to find Danny (Ralph Brown) has made himself at home. Drugged rodents fill the oven while Presuming Ed fills the bath and Marwood is rescued from the mire - it seems he will crack the boards after all. "Congratulations", Withnail says emptily, as he begins to contemplate life without his straight man.

Bruce Robinson deserves high praise for creating a rich, debauched world of weird thumbs, phenodihydrochloride benelex, old suits, uncontaminated urine and the Camberwell carrot. WIth a the tightest of budgets, he brings the late 1960's to life. The script is incredibly witty and eminently quotable. Both Mary Selway (casting director) and Bruce Robinson succeeded in bringing dialogue to life with an impeccable choice of actors. Richard E Grant has never come close to his performance as Withnail - his drunken performances are remarkable. Richard Griffiths is as camp as a hat as the overbearing, exuberant Monty, and Ralph Brown is frequently hilarious as the dangerous but lovable Danny.

This is a film that will never be tarnished by age, and neither is it limited by repeat viewings. It is a very accessible film, despite its largely English humour, and 'Withnail' remains one of the best films about friendship. Certainly a one off, 'Withnail' is a must see film that will not disappoint.

Brilliant Brit Comedy

[Theo Robertson · 9/10 · 14 January 2006]

Strange to believe that WITHNAIL AND I , a film that is regarded as today one of the best British comedies ever made flopped spectacularly on its initial release in 1987 and maybe it's not too easy to see why . In the late 1980s the British film industry was in an absolute mire and the very phrase itself " British film " made a homegrown audience roll its eyes and think of art-house crap directed by Derek Jarman or Peter Greenaway . Any British film no matter the genre or how good it was always got tarred with the same brush in those days .

Years later actor Ralph Brown ( Danny ) was asked " Why is it a good film ? " to which he replied " Because there's no crap bits in it " which simplifying the truth . WITHNAIL AND I is a very rare type of British comedy since it has been developed to its utmost potential . All too often British comedies of the last 20 years feel like they've been rush released before the script has been used to its full potential but not with this comedy classic because nearly every scene couldn't possibly be any funnier . Everyone has their favourite scene like the one in the Irish bar or the tea room or the one with bull but for me the stand out scene has got to be the urine sample down at the police station . It's also interesting to note that it's a movie without any female characters and feels both homo-erotic and laddish at the same time . It also carries an emotional and poignant impact at the end , something all of us can relate to when our best friend finds a new best friend and we become quickly forgotten

All the cast are excellent but Richard E Grant is nothing short of superb and it's probably his performance as much as Bruce Robinson's smart script . You could argue that because Withnail is a camp , self centered , mincing thespian Grant is playing an extension of himself and while this may be true he's certainly enjoyable to watch here . Ironically enough I'd have thought he'd be brilliant as the title character in DOCTOR WHO but it was co-star Paul McGann who got the role in the 1996 American TVM and what a major disappointment he was . As it stands both actors will probably be best remembered for their cracking roles in this movie

"We are not drunks. We are multi-millionaires!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 11 July 2018]

British humor can be very deceptive. You have the outright nonsense of the Monty Python crew, and then you have the biting witticism of a screenplay as is found in "Withnail and I". It's difficult to say whether you can enjoy a film like this or not; it's just a bit too dark and seamy for entertainment purposes, but it finds it's rewards in other ways. There's a sense of rambling about with the story line, introducing deficient characters along the way to complement the antics of Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and friend Marwood (Paul McGann), the celebrated 'and I' of the picture. For a couple of characters having to operate from the wrong side of the tracks, their fate is virtually all down hill from there, thereby counterpointing the understated humor with a very real sense of sadness and melancholy. The pacing of the film may be somewhat slow and tedious for some viewers, not to mention the paucity of a plot, but for those with the patience, this is a movie that satisfies the discriminating viewer with it's prescient dialog and incorrigible wit.

A Journey back to the 60s with George Harrison

[johnsw · 10/10 · 29 August 2004]

Withnail and I is set in an old, run down student flat in London's Camden Town at the end of the 1960's. Withnail and I are a couple of unemployed actors from different ends of the social spectrum.

Withnail is a Harrow educated dilettante, and rather upper crust; his flatmate Marwood is a grammar school boy with a slightly more realistic outlook on life. To escape from the squalor of their grim, unemployed, existence in Camden Town, soaked in a near lethal cocktail of alcohol and drugs, the desperate pair call upon the generosity of Withnail's uncle Montague and secure the use of his cottage in the country for a weekend.

Uncle Monty is an eccentric middle-aged homosexual, who prefers vegetables to flowers. He considers that 'flowers are essentially tarts - prostitutes for the bees', and wears a radish in his buttonhole in preference to a flower. He grows vegetables in pots in his Chelsea house, and makes suggestive references to 'firm young carrots'.

Withnail (excellently played by Richard E. Grant), persuades Uncle Monty (a superb Richard Griffiths) to lend Marwood (a convincing Paul McGann) and him his cottage in the country for the weekend.

Their exploits at the cottage, and in Penrith where they spend their Wellington boot money on booze and try to sober up in a gentile tearoom are memorable, witty and entertaining. The incongruous uncle Monty reciting Baudelaire in the Cumbrian hills, seeking carnal knowledge of Marwood (apparently coerced by the cowardly and treacherous Withnail), are testament to the writing skills and humour of author and director, Bruce Robinson.

The film's soundtrack brings us 'A Whiter Shade of Pale', played by King Curtis on the Saxophone, 'My Friend' and 'Walk hand in Hand', performed by Charlie Kunz, 'Schubert's Piano Sonata in B Flat Major' performed by Leslie Pearson, 'All Along the Watchtower' and 'Voodoo Chile', by Jimi Hendrix, 'Hang Out the Stars in Indiana', performed by Al Bowlly, and 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', by the late lamented George Harrison, who provided much of the financial backing for this memorable film.

This is a thoroughly entertaining 108 minutes of humorous entertainment, a few too many drinks, a convincing 60's atmosphere, superb performances from the excellent cast, and music to make your heart, and your guitar, gently weep. Thank you, George Harrison.

Who says a comedy can't be intelligent, sad AND laugh out loud FUNNY?

[Infofreak · 20 September 2003]

The first time I watched 'Withnail and I' in the late 80s I thought it was pretty good, but that's about it. Over the years, and a few more viewings, it really started to grow on me, and recently rewatching it on DVD for the first time I was struck at how brilliant and unique it is. It's a very subtle film really, and most comedy is admittedly a matter of taste, but if this movie clicks with you you'll most likely end up putting it in amongst your all time favourites. To me it's one of the greatest comedies ever. It's intelligent and sad and genuinely laugh out loud FUNNY, something you rarely see these days. The movie is episodic and seems to ramble on, but it's much more than a shaggy dog story, there's an underlying depth and melancholy to it that makes it something special. Richard E. Grant has never been better than this. Playing Withnail and writing his wonderful autobiography cement his place in film history as far as I'm concerned. Paul McGann is also excellent, and there are lovely performances from Richard Griffiths, Michael Elphick and Ralph Brown. EVERYONE is good in 'Withnail' but it's still Grant's movie all the way. He is just utterly brilliant! 'Withnail and I' is one of THE great British movies, and comes with my highest recommendation.

Not just a cult classic...a classic - period.

[whippetrun · 10/10 · 24 August 2002]

I have a film poster of Withnail & I that has such critical quotes as "Hilarious!" and "Gloriously funny!" and I can't say I totally agree. Don't get me wrong...I loved this film and it remains one of my favorites of all time, I just think these quotes sell the movie as some kind of Monty Python romp...and it's much more than that. I did laugh throughout, but I was also touched and found it quite sad (in a very entertaining way.) I would like to think that this is what Bruce Robinson intended...to make a dramedy...not just a silly romp. Though perhaps a bit slow for some, I thought the pace was remarkable, the acting superb. I have also heard people say that they found the plot lacking...but I argue that sometimes it's just nice to sit back and get swept away by a good character study. Interesting and thought provoking, sometimes referred to as a "cult classic", I say it's just a classic - period. Oh...and great soundtrack. The closing music always gives me goosebumps.

With Gangrenous Toe...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 9 October 2020]

Poorly aged and while its not bad bad it certainly exhibits a bit of decay. Comprising some pretty humorous dialogue and performed by two more than capable thespians, the basis of your love, hate, or indifference will probably come down to your views of the character played by Richard E. Grant, a character who you've probably encountered through your journey in life in various shades of melodrama and exaggeration. On the other hand, maybe you've been accommodated in similar establishments and neglected the washing up, in which case you'll be in awe of how much worse things could have been - that is until you've drawn from the carrot of life, put things into perspective and resolved to start afresh.

Perennial Favourite

[regdricos · 10/10 · 16 April 2005]

Pretty superfluous to add to the praise of Withnail & I. If Oscars mattered particularly and, further, went to those deserving, surely Richard Griffiths (Uncle Monty) would receive one for his high camp, yet credible and deeply touching turn. That's the key - it's all too credible, 'cos we've done it. As an essay on the final shedding of a strange inverted innocence for the corruption of 'normal' life with its compromises, self-discipline and grind, unsurpassed, I believe. Likewise for its appreciation of the deep platonic love that can spring up between young men in the trenches of poverty and booze. Everything pitch perfect from the herniating slapstick to the pathos, from the soundtrack to the props, from the rain to the booze and all the way from Withnail... to I. 10/10.

great debut for Richard E. Grant

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 11 April 2015]

It's 1969 London. Withnail (Richard E. Grant) & I (Paul McGann) are a couple of struggling actors living in a rundown filthy flat. They struggle to find the money for heat. Withnail is a constantly complaining drunk. I suggest going to the cottage of Withnail's gay uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths). They are visited by Danny the local drug dealer.

It's a dark comedy. I don't know why but a lot of it didn't connect for me. It's possible that I don't get half of the references. It's also possible that I don't find Withnail funny. Grant is doing a big performance but not a funny one for my taste. I also don't understand their 'friendship'. The homo humor wears out for me. It is however undeniable that Grant shows the power of his acting in his film debut.

A Masterpiece::

[cursedpiratejack · 10/10 · 2 March 2005]

By far the greatest film ever made!!! Truly shows what can be done with just brilliant writing. There are no car chases, explosions, aliens or superheros. This film touches the nerves of anyone that's ever struggled for something that seemed unobtainable. That naive part of youth that makes us feel invincible. The time of your life when you don't mind going without. The time of your life where your greatest memories will come from. The freedom and irresponsibility of being young. Before settling down and having to be a responsible adult and taking the kids to school. I love this movie, it reminds of a time when all I needed was a beer...

Withnail & I

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 9 June 2020]

Writer Bruce Robinson had already been Oscar nominated for his screenplay for The Killing Fields. This was his directorial debut as it is semi autobiographical.

Set in the fag end of 1969 London. Narcissistic, acerbic and egoistic Withnail (Richard E Grant) and bemused and reflective Marwood (Paul McGann) are struggling actors living in a squalid flat. The kitchen sink is a disgusting piece of art in itself.

Both are on social security, drink and drugs with Withnail trying lighter fluid when alcohol runs out. Their local drug dealer is Danny (Ralph Brown) who concocts all kinds of exotic substances such as the Camberwell Carrot.

With no money and fancying a holiday break. Withnail persuades Marwood to go to his Uncle Monty's (Richard Griffiths) holiday cottage in the Lake District. Marwood does not know yet that Withnail has intimated to his uncle that young Marwood is innocent and gay.

At the Lake District the locals are far from charmed by Withnail's histrionics. Uncle Monty arrives late at night and makes a play for Marwood who is shocked by his predatory behaviour.

I watched this film soon after its original release and was underwhelmed by it. Over the years Withnail & I has acquired a reputation of being one of the great British cult movies. The one with the most quotable lines and Richard E Grant's debut film. I have to say it still feels like an episodic grungy black comedy.

The characters are oddballs and pretty shallow. Although you sense it is always going to be the 'I' of the title, Marwood who will grow up and break out at the end. There is a bittersweet soliloquy by Withnail at the end of the movie.

A Faultless Work Of Art

[terraplane · 10/10 · 13 April 2004]

Withnail & I is in a class of it's own. I know of no other film whose entire script is quoted ad infinitum by those addicted to the fabulous language. There are no jokes as such, just one memorable line after another. We all have our favourites and you can find many of them on the message boards. But it is the delivery that makes this stuff work so well. The ensemble cast work a particular kind of magic together that is sheer perfection. The characters come to life in such a vivid fashion that you really know these people. Richard E Grant gives an outstanding performance as Withnail, this is the sort of performance that should be rewarded with an oscar, not the kind of rubbish that the Academy usually praise. Paul McGann is the straight man that provides the anchor to the whole film. Richard Griffiths' Uncle Monty is just so brilliantly portrayed. His wonderful lines delivered with perfection. Such moments as "as a boy I used to weep in butchers shops" and "flowers are essentially tarts, prostitutes for the bees" will live forever. In amongst all of this hilarity is an underlying feeling of elegaic regret and despair for lives that have never quite reached their expectations, hopes that have been frequently dashed. As Danny says, they have failed to paint it black. The final scene in Regents Park is almost too much to bear, as Marwood leaves Withnail quoting Hamlet to the caged wolves in the zoo. You realise that it's not funny anymore.A new era dawns for Withnail and us.

Three viewings over two decades. I still don't get it.

[oneguyrambling · 3/10 · 23 July 2011]

I don't get it.

I didn't get it 15 years ago when I first saw it.

Didn't get it 5 years ago when I revisited to see if my 'missing the point' was due to previous immaturity.

And I don't get it now.

Withnail and I is the tale of two out of work, down on their luck, constantly searching for a cheap and quick high actors who live in squalid conditions and manage to cadge a free 'holiday' in the country out of Withnail's well to do Uncle Monty.

As I see it (and I may be wrong) the entertainment comes from their awkward interaction with a society that doesn't understand their eccentricities, and the fact that wealthy Uncle Monty is flamboyantly gay and is constantly trying to pork the non-relative of the duo.

Withnail is overly dramatic about everything, most frequently the lack of fine alcohol or drugs and an absence of creature comforts. He is in a constant state of displeasure and discontentment, and seems to be eternally coming down from something, meaning he teeters on the verge of either total collapse or vicious attack. This leads to his constant search for a new fleeting high from something, anything, and verbal lamentations when this chemical or alcoholic relief is not immediately forthcoming.

I can see how much of his dialogue is perceived as being 'quotable', but can't fathom the pleasure or amusement that one might derive from hearing it again and again, or worse from repeating these well-worn phrases and statements.

And 'I' is never named. He exists around Withnail, though trails about in his wake is perhaps more apt. When Withnail scores – be it drugs, grog or food – he is there. When Withnail collapses he cautiously tries to take charge… at least until Withnail storms back.

I mean as I see it that's about it. I can hardly think of a single scene that remains with me aside from the afore-mentioned male on male possible rape scene – and rest assured that was because of me seeing the discomfort rather than the humour - and while Withnail is indeed a whirlwind and a genuine presence (Richard E Grant in his debut and defining role) he doesn't say anything of sufficient magnitude or wit to stick to my ribs.

To me Withnail and I is a two hour exercise in waiting, waiting for either entertainment or something memorable to arrive. I've waited three times now, it isn't coming… Final Rating – 5 / 10. After three viewings over two decades I still don't get what others so obviously do. I'm afraid now I never will.

Classic dialogue makes for a hilarious film

[bob the moo · 10 April 2004]

In the late 1960'sm Withnail and our narrator are two unemployed actors who have little chance of being employed. Fed up with their lot in Camden, they flee for a restful break in Penrith in the cottage of Withnail's Uncle Monty. However the facilities, the oddball locals and the advances of Monty put their friendship under pressure.

There is very little I can add to the many reviews that have rightly praised this film as one of the funniest British films ever. The basic plot is not enough to keep you watching and you should not come to this film looking for an amazing narrative - I have watched this several times and never once has it mattered where the film was going, only how it goes there. The joy of the film is a script that is rich in highly memorable and quotable dialogue that will make you laugh out loud. It is crass to let this become a list of lines but if you stood up in certain circles and declared `I demand booze' or `I want something's flesh' then it would immediately be recognised!

Of course, the dialogue would not work if it were delivered badly, a problem that does not exist here. Grant is, and always will be, Withnail; no matter how many stupid adverts he does for shops this is how I will remember him. His delivery is tremendous and he brings the character to life in a spinning fireball of comedic excess! McGann has the less showy part but is equally as good and has to make his character real in order to hold the film together. Support roles are just as well scripted and just as funny - notably Griffiths (you terrible c*nt!) and the late Michael Elphick.

Overall this is simply one of the best British comedies ever made and it breaks my heart to see voter's lists where things like Four Weddings top it! The delivery is great and the writing is consistently outrageous and hilarious. The only downside of this film is that director/writer Robinson has never topped this wonderful movie and looks like he never will.

More than a comedy

[thestarsatdawn · 10/10 · 3 January 2002]

This film may now have become the property of students, but that fact should not allow us to stop looking at this film as being anything other than a true classic of British cinema. It is perhaps one of the most quotable films I have ever come across and one could say that it is this fact that has made the film a `cult movie'. The truth of course is, that this film is far more than just endlessly quotable lines; it is far too fine a film to be herded into the cult category. This said, it is the outrageously amusing lines that punctuate this film and the sharpness of the comedy that can survive endless re-watchings, but I prefer to think of it as something more than just a comedy. This is a very personal story to director Bruce Robinson, a fact that comes off very clearly by his outstanding direction. Robinson lived the life of 'Withnail and I' himself in the late 60's and Paul McCann's character being referred to as `I' is no coincidence, Robinson's friend Vivien (who unfortunately died) being the real life Withnail. When you have a film that is so close to the director as this, it always clearly shows. This film is about friendship, it's about loss and it's about what to do when you are out of work actors in the final months of the 1960's. There has been such said about the homosexual references in this film, im sure many believing that Withnail and I have some kind of repressed desire for each other. I certainly do not go along with this theory; it seems to me that they have a repressed friendship, which is finally and movingly realised when Marwood (I) leaves Withnail at the end of the film. This is of course a tragic ending, or more fittingly, the character of Withnail is a tragic figure, who, despite our better hopes, we all know will not cope on his own. Despite what would seem an unhappy ending, it has a kind of raw emotion to it. What we are seeing is not a man about to fall apart, we are seeing a man finally realising his true and brilliant potential as an actor with a searing performance from Hamlet. Only upon watching the film a second time and hearing Uncle Monty announce `it is most shattering experience of a young mans life when he awakes and quite reasonably says to himself 'I will never play the Dane', when that moment comes, one's ambition ceases' that you realise the epic nature of Withnail's ending speech. The real beauty of this film is that you can look at it as deeply as you like, or you can look at it as a film about a couple of alcoholics going on a drinking spree to the countryside. Either way, you can't help but look at it as a truly magnificent piece of work that really deserves to be recognised as more than a `cult comedy'.

The best film ever made about friendship.

[DesbUK · 10/10 · 9 March 2009]

I was amongst the very few people who saw Withnail and I on its cinema release early in 1988. It passed by largely unnoticed, but has since grown in reputation due to video, DVD and repeated TV screenings. A favourite of drunk students, it's the best film made about friendship and also ticks those two indispensable boxes necessary for assessing a great film: it stands up on repeated viewings and it is timeless.

Bruce Robinson wrote from his own experiences of living as an unemployed actor in the 1960s (and, in the Uncle Monty case, of almost being seduced whilst filming 'Romeo and Juliet'). One of my all-time favourite films, it's the story of the end of a friendship and takes place in a very specific time and place: London and the Lake District in the autumn of 1969. But's a world away from the 'Swinging 60s' of myth - this is an England of grim flats, of overcast and rainy countryside. Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and his anonymous flatmate (Paul McGann) are two unemployed actors sharing a run down Camden Town flat. They spend there time getting drunk at the pub, or buying cannabis from the hippie drug dealer Danny (Ralph Brown). Withnail is all ego and unfulfilled ambition, and a respite from their existence comes in the form of Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths), who, in McGann's words, is "raving homosexual". Monty loans them his Lake District cottage for a weekend. It turns out to gloomy and cold, and Monty soon arrives determined to have his wicked way with McGann. The two return to London, where McGann is offered a job in rep in Manchester and the two have a tearful farewell in the pouring rain before a drunken Withnail recites Hamlet to the Wolves.

And that's it. There's no real story, just a series of incidents. No women, no romantic interest, no story arc or 'journey' so beloved of Hollywood scriptwriters. There are no 'jokes' as such, just witty and clever lines. And yet the film is perfect. Not a scene or a line could be cut without loosing something from the overall texture. The two actors complement each other beautifully: the low-key McGann and the sometimes manic and desperate ex-public school boy Grant, frequently drunk, always resentful and bitter. Griffiths is a triumph as the flowery Monty, forever going on about his youthful indiscretions, but actually quite threatening when he bursts into McGann's bedroom dressed in a nightgown and proclaiming "I adore you". And it's Danny who delivers my favourite line: "We're 90 days away from end of the greatest decade in the history of mankind". Outside, in the real world, the Beatles had just recorded their final album and British troops had just been sent to Northern Ireland. This is the end of the Sixties dream.

The final farewell in the rain is poignant and moving without being mawkish. Like the best English films ('24 Hour Party People', 'Life of Brian', 'The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'. 'A Matter of Life and Death'), it's a complete one off and one I shall never tire of seeing.

Good but NOT great

[martind43-1 · 7/10 · 11 September 2007]

I've seen this film about 3 times now, it's a good film but not great. It's treated by many people as cult classic. On that basis, it is overrated. Saw it at the Glasgow Film Theatre tonight with a few friends, thought I'd give it another chance. There was a number of people in the audience in fits of wails of laughter, and actual applause at the end. It's not often that happens, but once again, I did not see that it merited that reaction, and my fiends thought the same. It's definitely got a few laughs, mirth, and a lot of scenes which bring a wry smile, but not the stuff of legend. Paul McGann and Richard E Grant gave good performances, and Richard Griffiths was fine as Uncle Monty. So although enjoyable, it did not convince me as to why it receives such adulation. Guess its just each to his own.

Smashing Comic Surrealism

[blackburnj-1 · 9/10 · 27 October 2005]

Being a student at Public School, I am well aware of "Withnail and I's" cult status and I had some idea of the sort of lines that were I was about to be exposed to, particularly as they had been constantly quoted to me ever since I arrived at Public School. But nothing had prepared me for what was to follow.

London, 1969. Two out of work actors, Withnail and the anonymous "I" decide to escape the grot of their flat and the growing tea bags of their sink for a week at their Uncle Monty's cottage in Yorkshire. However when they arrive there they realise that they've gone on holiday by mistake and that, not only did they have hardly any food or fuel, but that they have attacked a local whom they believe to be homicidal. What follows is drug, drink and insanity fuelled romp through the country and back to London.

Bruce Robinson's script is brilliant. Filled with fantastic comic set pieces and superb lines, this script has so many quotable pieces that the audience is left rolling in the aisles and yet wonderfully touched by the ending. The characters are wonderfully constructed but it is the performances that give them and the film a fantastically sharp edge. Richard E. Grant is joyous to watch and unforgettable as the eponymous Withnail. His performance is made even more astounding when you consider that he is teetotal. To weigh against this surreal drunk is the down to earth, but similarly inebriated, "I", played superbly well by Paul McGann. His sensitive performance is glorious to watch. Richard Griffiths is also strong in support of the two leads as the raving homosexual Uncle Monty. The film is also supported by fantastic music, notably Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower".

Brilliantly funny and superbly well acted, "Withnail and I" is a deserving cult classic that will stand the test of time.

Sporadically amusing character-driven comedy

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 20 April 2010]

Two loser actors leave London to go on holiday in the north of England then come back home again.

Withnail and I is virtually a plot-less movie. Nothing much really happens over the course of the narrative. Instead it's all about witty dialogue and eccentric characters. This seemingly is a film favoured by students, and it's not really surprising seeing as it's primarily about a couple of young guys with little responsibility who sit around in grotty surroundings drinking and taking recreational drugs. I guess the film is partly about a guy coming to the end of such a life-style and entering adulthood. Where at the end Marwood, replete with sensible haircut, exits to pursue his career, leaving his debauched life behind, Withnail, we are in no doubt, will never move on from this world and things will only get worse for him. This theme is enforced by the film being set at the end of 1969. One character describes the 60's as being the best decade the world has known, and its closure in the movie signifies the end of an era in more ways than one; although it has to be said that the film certainly does not romanticise the decade. It's continually raining and everything is gloomy, drab and joyless.

While Withnail and I is certainly a very well acted movie – Richard E Grant is particularly good – the main problem I have with it is that by in large I don't actually find it very funny. I fully realise that for some people, such an admission is tantamount to sacrilege and as punishment I should be strung up by my testicles and repeatedly punched in the face. However, it would be remiss of me not to admit to this reservation. While there are a few good lines sprinkled throughout the film, for the most part it's not, for me, comedy gold. It may well have been partially due to the depressing world that the character's inhabited, I'm not sure. But whatever the reason, that aspect disappointed me. Nevertheless, I thought the film as a whole was an enjoyable enough character-driven period piece with fine acting, a few good lines and some wise sentiments.

Absolute masterpiece

[prima_pimpernel · 10/10 · 11 August 2005]

This film is a masterpiece. A MASTERPIECE. There is not a single line out of place, every word is perfectly crafted and integral to the film. Richard E Grant is stunning in his role (Withnail), it is not surprising that it earned him so many more. Equally perfect is Paul McGann (I), whose connection with Grant is captivating. Both are extremely talented and diverse actors who are amply deserving of Richard Griffith's excellent performance (as always) as the raving homosexual Monty. I have never seen a film that has delighted me so much in its every single aspect as this does. Bruce Robinson is a pure genius whose work cannot be enough extolled. 'Withnail & I' should be shown to every single drama student and revered as is Shakespeare for it is no less poignant, subtle and hilarious - in fact far more hilarious! I repeat... A MASTERPIECE!

Sometimes you have to admire British comedy films

[tonypeacock-1 · 7/10 · 11 May 2023]

For some reason I have always missed this film over the years. The film follows the lives of two unemployed actors (Withnail - Richard E. Grant and Marwood/I - Paul? McGann). For want of a better word they live like student scrubbers complete with piled high unwashed pots and rodents in their Camden flat.

Withnail who is under the influence of alcohol throughout the film has a rich uncle (Richard Griffiths) who happens to own a cottage in the Lake District. He somehow gets the key for a short break away with Marwood. What follows are a good thirty minutes of shenanigans in Penrith featuring more alcohol, weird farmers and cottage barricading like Straw Dogs. Uncle Monty turns up to make proceedings interesting. Monty has a liking for wine and Marwood it seems! The film is mildly interesting watching Marwood try and scrape out of the clutches of Uncle Monty. The late George Harrison has an Executive Producer credit. His Handmade Films made the film.

the greatest british film ever? course it is !!!

[rwblah · 10/10 · 25 March 2002]

A difficult film for me to remain calmly objective about and avoid hyperbolic hagiolatry for I am one of those classic sad cases who go through life forever quoting from this particular gem the first opportunity they get. Having said that I'll have a go. 'Withnail and I' is for all intents and purposes the archetypal stoned, student slacker movie (made years before that term became vogueish) and is the tale of two out of work actors who spend their days in a dishevelled flat consuming copious quantities of alcohol and amphetamines. One day they drive off into the country to'rejuvenate', and that's about it really. It's simplicity is it's beauty however and the almost episodic nature of the film only heightens the pleasure and the overall impression one is left with is of a series of beautifully crafted sketches neatly woven together into a thoroughly satisfying whole. Grant is superb and has quite simply never done anything to surpass his role here and both Paul McGann and Richard Griffiths give stirling performances but it is Grant's film really and as he staggers shambolically from one paranoid drunken rant to the next he seems to eclipse everything else on the screen. Whether it is roaring profanities at gay uncles "Monty, you terrible C**t!" or hurling salacious abuse at teenage schoolgirls "Scrubbers!", he is gloriously monstrous and lovable all at the same time. Having said that though the real star of the film is Bruce Robinson's script which throws any traditional plot conventions out of the window in favour of a charming (oh so very English) tale of a fading, outlived friendship set against the backdrop of a fading, outlived decade. It is a truly unique achievement filled with eccentricity, surreality and just a dash of pathos with Robinson's restrained direction leaving the dialogue and the flawless performances (honourable mention should go to Ralph Brown and Michael Elphick) to carry the film which they do effortlessly. The greatest British film ever? There's a few close contenders (Black Narcissus, Scum, Trainspotting to name but a few)but for my money there isn't even a debate. Course it is!

A Little Touch of Monty in the Night.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 11 December 2017]

There's something wrong with me because whenever I hear a film referred to as a "cult movie" I avoid it. "Withnail and I" was called a cult movie but it's an exception because it's actually pretty good. You have never heard insults and curses with so much elegance and filigree. They could tear a hole in the space/time continuum.

Richard Grant and Paul McGann are two young aspiring artists (of one sort or another, maybe acting and writing) living in a London flat that's so sloppy, so ill kept, so dishabillé, so DESECRATED, that it looks almost like my humble abandoned railway car.

Both are neurotics in the same way that both are artists. Grant is Withnail, tall and skinny, and McGann is the "I" in "Withnail and I." The former is given to an excess of alcohol from time to time, while the latter has anxiety attacks on a regular basis. "LOOK -- my THUMBS are going weird!" They're visited by a doper friend who has a cool exterior, what can be seen of it beneath the fright wig, and a speech impediment that renders even his slowest, most ominous threats harmless as a child's. "If I ever 'medicined' you, you'd think a bwain tumor was a birthday pwesent."

Withnail and I shake down Withnail's gay and wealthy uncle (Richard Griffiths) for the key to Griffith's weekend country house, which hasn't been used in years and turns out to be in ramshackle shape. Griffiths appears later in the film when he visits the two lads at the house and puts moves on McGann, scaring McGann to death, but Griffiths' best lines show up during his introduction. He says to his nephew, "Would you pour us a sherry, dear boy?" and then leaves the room for a moment, during which Grant hastily grabs the bottle and wordlessly chugalugs a couple of glasses worth. They begin discussing gardening. Griffiths love cauliflowers. "There's poetry in the cauliflower. Roses are the prostitutes of plants, just sitting there waiting to be pollinated by bees. But vegetables in general are noble. There's nothing like a firm young carrot." (Paraphrasing there.) The story weakens a bit at the country estate, a filthy place, and the weakest segment is Griffiths' visit that introduces a touch of pathos.

Finally, the duo return to their London flat to find it occupied by the doper and his colossal black friend. Some of the humor is kind of subtle so I'll point out an instance here. Throughout the movie, the two white guys have a tendency to Jimmi Hendrix and his blackish hard-rock electric guitar. When they get home from the country. Withnail and I find the bathtub occupied by the strange black guy with the Afro and he's listening to The Beatles, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It's funny, see. The white guys listening to black rock and the black guy listening to The Beatles "White Album"? No? Am I committing the Texas sharpshooter fallacy? At the end, sadly, Withnail and I split up, for reasons not made too clear. And Withnail, the actor, addresses a zoo with wolves and comes out with some lines from Hamlet, which I am about to quote: "Recently, though I don't know why, I've lost all sense of fun, stopped exercising-the whole world feels sterile and empty. This beautiful canopy we call the sky-this majestic roof decorated with golden sunlight-why, it's nothing more to me than disease-filled air. What a perfect invention a human is, how noble in his capacity to reason, how unlimited in thinking, how admirable in his shape and movement, how angelic in action, how godlike in understanding! There's nothing more beautiful. Men don't interest me. No-women neither, but you're smiling, so you must think they do. We surpass all other animals. And yet to me, what are we but dust? " But Withnail's reshaped the lines so that the quotation ends with the dismal "dust." Then he tromps off through the torrent of rain. It would have been better, more filled with irony, if he'd just ended the quote with "There's nothing more beautiful." I mean, after all, why paint the lily?

I finally managed to stay awake till the end

[joachimokeefe · 5/10 · 22 June 2019]

1969 recreated in 1984; two unemployed reprobate actors spend a weekend in a farmhouse, after which one of them gets a job. There's a vague homoerotic theme.

Ever seen "The Young Ones", with Rik Mayall et al? It's the same joke. The Dunning-Kruger effect, or "illusory superiority", where people convince themselves that they're doing fine, when they're actually not. In Withnail and I (Marwood)'s case, as in The Young Ones, the humour is in the grossness of their incompetence while they narcissistically strive to preserve the illusion of their own wonderfulness. (For example, the rust-bucket Jaguar they drive North in).

So I get the gags, but really, it isn't until at least halfway through that any sort of suspense or drama gets going (is the price of their 'holiday' for Marwood (I) to be seduced by Richard Griffith (Withnail's uncle)? So for the first time I managed to watch W&I without falling asleep. There are a few good gags, and scenes recognisable to any English public-school child of the sixties, but not many other people.

W&I has wistful English atmosphere by the bucketload, but not much else.