Cult of Withnail
- Withnail and I review by Cherry
I've seen this cult classic before but I wanted to get it out again. It gets better the more you know it. Everyone knows someone who is like, or has lived like Withnail, and although the film is unpolished and looks slightly dated, that is part of the charm. One you either love or hate, but if you think student squalour has a decadent appeal, get this one out!
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Probably , the best film ever made
- Withnail and I review by CP Customer
I moved to London in the late 80s and this bears a close resemblance. Funny, Classic, and a snap-shot of a lost sensibility that made this country so fertile.
Yet the Byron and Shelley characters could easily be from any of the last few hundred years. Out of work actors have rarely looked more romantic.
So dense and beautiful you can enjoy it time and time again, and The Crow has to be the best pub in the world.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Interesting film. DVD stuck a few times
- Withnail and I review by py
I'm not sure how else to report the DVD was a bit "sticky", eg finishing about 10 minutes before the end. Had to retry it a couple of times before completing. Worth it to see how it all panned out for the characters
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
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"
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