Withnail and I
| Starring : | Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths |
| Director : | Bruce Robinson |
| Year : | 1986 |
| Studio : | Handmade Films |
Withnail and I is simply an amazing piece of film making. The film begins in a dreary
bed sit in London's Camden Town in the year 1969. Richard E. Grant is Withnail and I
is Paul McGann. The pair are friends and out of work actors. The two are desperate
to make it in the world of acting but things seem hopeless.
Withnail is particularly
good at bemoaning his fate and he has taken a fancy to the bottle and to any other
drug that comes his way. The two decide to get away from it all by taking a visit
in the country side. They manage to con Withnail's gay uncle Monty into letting them
stay at his country house in Penrith for the weekend.
Withnail and I travel up to the house and seem to be having a good time despite whining
and moaning about their hopeless situation. Withnail and I tell the owner of a local
pub that they are writing for a magazine.
They then meet the local poacher Jake
but when Withnail asks if he can purchase a pheasant from Jake he is told " I've seen
you prancing like a tit ! You want working on boy !".
In the night Monty comes to visit them but Withnail thinks Monty is the poacher Jake
and he is going to kill them. When Withnail finally sees that it is Uncle Monty and not
Jake he is so angry he got scared he screams "Monty you terrible cunt !".
Monty
drops the two pals into town to get some wellingtons but instead the two get drunk
and enter the Penrith tea rooms.
Withnail and I declare that they want
"Cake and fine wines ! ". The people in the tea rooms are all snobs and the pair laugh and
carry on with stuff like "We are multi-millionaires" and "We'll install a fucking jukebox
in here and liven all you stiffs up a bit !". The owners call the police but before
the two can get arrested Monty arrives and picks them up.
The problem for I is that uncle Monty has taken a fancy to him and he is under the
impression that Withnail and I are a gay couple. Monty tries desperately to seduce
I but his advances are pushed away. In the middle of the night Monty and I have a
confrontation which results in Monty leaving the house in the night. I then receives
a telegram telling him he has got work.
Withnail and I travel back to London but get arrested on the way back.
When they finally get back to their flat they find they have got squatters namely
the pill pusher Danny and a large black man. Withnail and I find that they are going
to get thrown out of the flat but they all get high on the weed anyway and Danny
pontificates on the meaning of the end of the sixties.
At the end of the movie I must leave
Withnail to his fate.
As Withnail says goodbye to his friend during the pouring rain
you will see one of the saddest and most poignant scenes in film history.
Overall this movie is filled with hilarious dialogue and hilarious scenes. The scenes with
Danny the pill pusher, Jake the Poacher and the Snobs in the Penrith Tea Rooms
are simply some of the funniest committed to film.
Review By John
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