Review of Withnail & I (1987) by Andrew S — 25 Apr 2013

One of the greatest British films ever made. Cast to perfection the journey of the principles captures perfectly the lost hopes, aspirations and innocence of the 60s generation. Richard E.Grant and Paul McGann both give the performance of their lives but Ralph Brown as Danny the dealer and, especially, the late Richard Griffiths as Monty take it in turns to steal the show.

The real-life history of the film's problematic production, lack of financial resource (only making it to release due to George Harrison's appearance as the white knight) and consequent lack of marketing, which led to almost total apathy within the industry at its introduction, only for the interest to then mature, like one of Monty's fine wines, into its current recognition as a cult classic, reads like a soap opera that mirrors almost perfectly the tale told on celluloid.