Rent Withnail and I (1987)

Must See British Comedy - Withnail and I review by GI

Hilariously funny and a sheer delight, one of the best British comedies you'll ever see. Littered with great lines and three brilliant central performances from Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann and Richard Griffiths this is a semi-autobiographical story from writer and director Bruce Robinson set in 1969. Grant is Withnail and the & I is McGann (actually named Marwood), they are two unemployed actors living in a squalid flat in Camden eternally waiting for a call from their agent. Both former public schoolboys they live their lives focused on drink and drugs, especially Withnail, a manic depressive who panics when the booze runs out. On a whim, to recharge their batteries they persuade Withnail's gay Uncle Monty (Griffiths) to let them go on holiday to his remote cottage in Cumbria. Both of them are ill equipped for the experience but when Uncle Monty arrives and has taken a big fancy to Marwood their friendship is challenged. There's a unique intelligence to this film which works on so many levels and the characters are brilliantly written and have an originality that makes them very memorable, including drug dealer Danny (Ralph Brown) and Michael Elphick as a Cumbrian poacher. There's also a sadness to the film especially with Withnail, and Richard E. Grant's Hamlet soliloquy at the end is very moving revealing Withnail's acting talent lost in a haze of alcohol. A rich and brilliant film, if you've never seen this it's a must, a comedy that captures the times, great soundtrack (Hendrix) and forever quotable - "As a youth I would weep in butcher's shops"