Withnail & I

WITHNAIL & I

Director : Bruce Robinson

Year : 1987

Genre : Comedy

Rating : ***1/2

'Withnail & I' is the 1987 directorial debut for Bruce Robinson, who would later direct the disappointing adaptation of Hunter S. Thompsons novel 'The Rum Diary'. The movie stars Richard E. Grant as Withnail and Paul McGann as I/Marwood as well as a great supporting role by Richard Grifftiths as Monty, Withnail's eccentric, overtly homosexual uncle. 'Withnail & I' is one of the biggest cult movies ever released from the UK and with it's instantly memorable dialogue, fantastic performances and perfect direction, it really isn't hard to see why. I also believe it is one of the funniest films we as a country, have ever made.

'Withnail & I' tells the story of two friends who live in a dingy Camden flat, who have severe drinking problems and whose only companions are the low life dealers who supply them with narcotics. Bored with their miserable existences and messy flat, Withnail suggests that they go on a holiday to get away from it all, renting his Uncle Monty's cottage in the middle of the countryside. However, due to their lack of social or domestic skills, the holiday quickly becomes a nightmare and a large majority of the movie revolves around Withnail and I trying to adapt to this new environment and interacting with the locals around them.

The movie is an adaptation of an unsuccessful, largely autobiographical novel written by Robinson in 1969 based on his life with Vivian Mackarell, an actor with whom he shared a flat with. A heavy drinker, Mackarell would inspire Withnail and Robinson would inspire the character of I. After the screenplay was written by Robinson, the script was read by George Harrison, former Beatle and founder of Handmade Films, who agreed to fund the making of the film. The company who had previously funded a number of other movies, most notably 'Monty Python's The Life Of Brian'. Soon afterwards, the cast was chosen and the movie was made.

'Withnail & I' has some of the most iconic characters in British cinema, most notably Richard E. Grant's Withnail, who is both acerbic and hilarious as an alcoholic, drug taking low-life whose existence seems to completely revolve around getting as slaughtered as possible. Amazingly, while the character drinks more than is humanly possible, creating unthinkable concoctions including lighter fluid and lager, Grant is actually a teetotaler and had never been drunk before the movie. Thinking that it would be impossible for him to play an alcoholic without ever being inebriated, Robinson forced Grant on a drinking binge to experience both drunkedness and a hangover. The end effect created possibly one of the greatest screen drunks of the cinema. There is a famed 'Withnail & I' drinking game which involves every time the character has a drink, the audience has to copy. Don't do this, as the combination of cider, lager, wine, whisky and lighter fluid will cause a coma and certain death! While hilarious and memorable, Withnail is also a deeply tragic character. As a failed actor, his only sanctuary in life is alcohol and drugs and while everyone else around him gets clean, finds jobs and make something of their lives, he is stuck in the void of alcohol dependency. Nothing will save him, he is a doomed person who only has the onslaught of liver damage, cirrhosis, cancer and certain death to look forward to.  

I/Marwood is played in a more controlled, but equally hilarious way by Paul McGann, who had been fired numerous times by Robinson before the shooting of 'Withnail & I' as his Liverpudlian accent didn't suit the character. However, after learning a London accent, McGann secured the role. While not as outwardly anarchic or acerbic as Withnail, I has a dependence in his partner, usually leading him into strange situations, anarchic scenarios and making simply dangerous decisions based on Withnail's influence. The two simply cannot survive without each other and when it comes to the tragic, heartbreaking climax, it is clear that Marwood doesn't want this life and wants to make something of himself. Rather than Withnail, who is perfectly happy to get as wasted as is inhumanely possible.

Robinson's direction is very impressive for a debut who is able to create an atmosphere of hopelessness, hilarity and tragedy in very simple ways with the use of lighting, camera angles and close ups. While not as manic as movies depicting drunkedness and drug abuse like Terry Gilliam's 'Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas' or Mike Figgis's 'Leaving Las Vegas', the reality of the environments of 'Withnail & I' enables the characters to seem much more dimensional and relatable than the caricatured performances of Johnny Depp or Nicolas Cage. The scenes set in the Camden apartment are so darkly lit that the dank, depressive, squalid ambience created by decades of chain smoking and rodent infestation allows us to symphathise with the characters and at at the same time, be disgusted by them. The scenes set in the freezing, dark cottage in the country utilise the use of naturalistic sounds such as wind blowing, dripping water and farm machinery so that while you are watching, you feel just as freezing as Withnail and Marwood are, who take refuge by a poorly lit fire. However, while you symphathise for them, you also feel that the conditions that they are living in now are infinetly better than what they are used to.

While hilarious, 'Withnail & I' has a very tragic subtext, which only reveals itself at the end of the film. While one character is trying to better himself, find a job and make something of his life, the other has given up. After years of rejections and endless, hopeless searching, he has only found harmony at the botttom of a bottle and his addiction has unintentionally held him captive. His face is mauled, his eyes are glazed and his social skills are at an all time low. To me, this a commentary on the hopeless search for fame and just like Martin Scorsese's 'The King Of Comedy', the film has at it's heart, a statement that the eternal search for fame is a poison that eats away at everything you value and love, until you are left trying to pick up the pieces and try to find a different path. For some, this may be a new vocation or job, but for others, the different path may be self - destructive caused by self - hatred and loathing where the only temporary cure is intoxication, blinding the senses and allows us to forget our grief for a few blissful moments, until the alcohol wears off and we are reminded again just how useless we are.

'Withnail & I' is a movie well worth seeing. It is a brilliantly hilarious movie which has at it's heart a character whose every line is memorable. There are scenes in the film which are some of the funniest I have ever seen and I am extremely eager to own a copy of the movie myself. However while comical, there really is an underlying message which is ultimately depressing. The movie finishes on a very bleak note and leaves us wondering whether characters like this should be iconic, however funny or memorable they are. They paint a picture of a very sad society and culture in which fame rules and alcohol imprisons.


You will like this if you liked : The King Of Comedy, Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas