Review of Withnail & I (1987) by Shane B — 31 Mar 2010

There have been plenty of good hearted comidies from Britian over the year's, and Bruce Robinson's "Withnail & I" is one of the best. What seperate's "Withnail & I" from other British comidies is the working class element of the film, also seen in "The Full Monty". Robinson based the film on his own friendship with a woman he lived with in an apartment during the 1960's, from which he also wrote a novel about.

Robinson's cult classic tells the story of two deadbeat actors in London during the late 60's; the eccentric and outspoken "Withnail", played by Richard E. Grant, and the character Marwood, played by Paul McGann. Tired of life as unsuccessful actors whose only excitment in life is finding out whether there something living amongst their uncleaned dishes in the sink, decide to move to the countryside with Withnail's rich, gay uncle Monty, played brilliantly by Richard Griffiths, who lends them a cottage that turns out to be more worse for wear. Life proves to be difficult in the country aswell, as the duo find themselves in unappealing situations, such as having to kill a chicken for their dinner.

What makes the two chracters of "Withnail & I" so appealing is the fact that the two could not be two more different people. "Withnail" is unbalanced and unpredictable, while Marwood seems to have a more tenuous grip on reality. Marwood is portrayed as being Withanil's barrier for common sense. Another appealing factor of the film is the colloquial language used and how intelligent the characters sound when speaking, the dialogue in this film has a certain cleaver wit to it that really makes the film appealing.

"Withnail & I" has become quite unanimous amoung it's British audience. Many of the quotes in the film have become iconic in British culture, yet many who know of the quotes have never even heard of the film. "Withnail & I" has joined other cult films such as "The Big Lebowski" whos critical reception has not only grown over the years, but has also become a staple in pop culture.