Review of Withnail & I (1987) by Guy G — 09 Jul 2011

[85/B+] A sly, droll, and yearning look back at a dank, boozy little corner of the British 60s, crafted with intelligence, ribald self-mockery, and obvious affection. Grant is unstoppable as the arch Withnail, a spoiled, wicked thespian whose penetrating wit, self-indulgence, and insouciance are like a prism to the ironic and mercurial elements of the age.

Richard Griffiths' Uncle Monty is a queenly Wildean hilarity and a lightning rod of pathos, played to perfection as a ridiculous but sensitive governor of the two young, wayward protagonists. His own exotic excesses eventually propel the characters toward the achingly funny moment of crisis, and beyond to the breaking point, as all the fun and irresponsibility begin to wear upon the soul of ill-starred "I".

And when the moment of inevitable departure arrives, it comes with much sadness and fond regret.