Withnail & I R 1987 ‧ Comedy/Dark comedy ‧ 1h 47m

Had to postpone this reaction at the time due to being busy over Christmas, but have looked forward to it for months, and it didn't disappoint. Like most others on here, this is one of my favourite films, and one of those where you pick up new things every time. On my last couple of watch-throughs, it's struck me how the film is almost structured like the average day of an alcoholic, beginning with the nerves and disorientation of a hangover - the pair of them sleep-deprived and paranoid in the flat and down the local Irish pub - until they decide to escape from it all. Their trip is therefore a metaphorical (and often literal) drinking binge, a flight from the grubby reality that awaits back in London, a period when they can dream of stardom and revel in small pretences. But just as a drunk has to wake up in the morning, Withnail and "I" have to return to the squalor and misery of their lives, at which point "I" comes to the crucial realisation that he has to sober up (figuratively, by sprucing himself up and getting serious with his career, though perhaps literally as well) and cut Withnail out of his life once and for all. Which leads into the second major theme: change. The dying months of the 1960s. Withnail facing his 30th birthday. The wrecking ball demolishing London slums. The rural area still populated by farmers and poachers, without electricity in their homes, viewing the city-folk with fear and hostility because of the new world they represent. Danny the Dealer, with his speech about hippie wigs in Woolworths, knows that soon enough nothing will be the same. "I" knows it too, which is why he leaves. Only poor Withnail will stay the same as everything changes around him, until the day comes when it's too late for him to become anything else.

Ian Richards

I was going to ask if you'd seen my reply with the link but forgot all about it :) she is very talented. She had that design put on a water bottle for me for my birthday (which currently contains red wine lol to christen it) and on a little zip bag. Great gifts :)

BelladonnicHazeyJaneII

Hi Hazel, thanks for the link! I only found your reply now, apologies, but better late than never. That's a supremely impressive piece of artwork, your sister's clearly talented. I have some artist in me, my dad is(was, retired now) an illustrator/artist. I love Withnail, I think REG's performance is one of the best performances in any film, ever. The sadness in his eyes at the end; the broken little smile when 'I' says he can't stay any longer...it's just a wonderful performance.

Saul

I knew you'd like this one. It actually gets better upon watching it a second time because you already have the characters pre programmed in your mind so the opening scenes become funnier. Its a perfect example of how you can have a great film with essentially no plot. Just amusing characters going away for a weekend with great dialogue and phenomenal acting. As a side note, Withnail is actually based on a real person that the director/writer used to live with. He was always going on about how much of a superior actor he was than everyone else but he never managed to get much work and died very young because of his lifestyle. hence the sad lilt to the ending. But knowing that, and that wonderful hamlet resitation at the end by Grant is just the cherry on the top for me. Brings a bite of reality to an otherwise hysterical comedy. Thanks for doing this one Josh. made my evening.

Gyle

Saul Till It is a great gift, she drew it on her ipad (think that's what it's called!) and she spent over 20 hours making it for me. I have a wonderful sister :) Here is the link to the photo of it, hope it works OK as I'm not very techy - https://photos.app.goo.gl/eV1GPD2pBCb54skJ9 Oh my god 😀 yeah I wouldn't be surprised if he's an accountant nowadays. I love the soundtrack too, not only does it fit the film perfectly, I was already a fan of The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix when I watched it for the first time so that makes it even more special. I didn't even realise the extent of George Harrison's connection until researching about the film a few years after first watching it :) I discovered Withnail & I when I was about 14/15, it came on TV one evening while I was channel hopping. Something about it drew me in straight away, it was so different to anything else I'd ever watched. A few years later I introduced my little sister to it and she loved it instantly. It's nice to have this film to share with her as we tend to have pretty different film/programme tastes otherwise. There aren't many films I'm inclined to watch repeatedly but I feel like every time I watch Withnail I discover something new, even if it's a momentary expression on one of their faces which cracks me up. Richard E Grant is absolute perfection as Withnail. I'd say he has to be my favourite character in any film I've seen. The whole film is beautifully done. It would have been a tragedy if it hadn't been made. I like what you said about the music sounding like what you'd hear at a fairground, you're right. It has such a familiar yet haunting quality to me.

BelladonnicHazeyJaneII

Also notice Ralph Brown reprised the character of Danny in Wayne's World 2, but as Del Preston.

Toby Mann

The doom of how his life would continue is more tragic than suicide, so they likely made the right choice. Especially is he can quote Shakespeare like a pro.

Toby Mann

What a lovely gift. I know a lot of people for whom this film has been really important in shaping the way they approach art, comedy, music*...getting pissed. I remember being at university with someone who modeled themselves on Withnail; walking around halls with a wine bottle, in his dressing gown. A lot of poetry and affected campery. He's probably an accountant by now. BTW, if you ever feel like showing off your sister's drawing... :) *the soundtrack seems quite on the nose now I'm older but when I first heard it at the age of...I don't know, ten, eleven, it blew me away - all the songs were new to me. It's got some big-hitters, presumably thanks to George Harrison's intervention. Also I love the song that plays throughout, the plangent instrumental that plays over the credits and at other points of melancholic intensity. It sounds a little like something that would attract you to a funfair ride, maybe as the carousel goes by, but it's got a lovely, sad melody.

Saul

GET IN THE BACK OF THE VAN! https://youtu.be/9GGc7KcvqtE (Funnily enough, this mashup/song/thing was my introduction to the movie 13 years ago!)

David Lyons

This came out the year I was born so I hope you mean 34 years or I have misplaced a decade.

Wateesh

There's surely no Super Hans without Danny the dealer. The connection only struck me now, on the umpteenth re-viewing of this film. Also, I love some of the expressions Grant makes in this film. I can never forget the look on Withnail's face when the policeman pulls back the curtain and he's using his Heath Robinson pissomatic machine; the attempt at angelic innocence mixed with extreme, moronic drunkenness...'I want something's flesh!'...the shape of his body when he's dancing through that river with a shotgun, blasting the fish into chum; all gangly limbs and rolled cloth, like one of the kite-attackers in the videogame Sekiro. Every now and then I try to think of a greater comedic performance than Richard E. Grant as Withnail, but I never succeed. He totally inhabits that role, he invents a complete person where before there was nothing but words. He takes the two dimensions of Withnail in the script and shifts them ever so slightly, and he does it often enough throughout the film that it builds up to a 3d image. And suddenly Withnail is real. I think it's one of the great performances, full stop.

Saul

Thanks Michael, appreciate your kind words, as ever. Hope you've had a good chrimble, and that this new year will be better than the last one for everyone. Let us know if you have anything in the pipeline. I love your stuff.

Saul

JOSH: If you thought the ending was sad, that's nothing compared to the originally scripted ending, where Withnail, having said his goodbyes to "I", returned to his flat, poured wine down the barrel of a shotgun and then proceeded to place the shotgun's barrel in his mouth and blow his brains out.

Right Said Brett

Sorry to hear you had a miserable Christmas, hope things pick up for you. Love Withnail and I too, looking forward to rewatching it now.

Michael Leighton's Karl Pilkington Animations

'Ray. My favourite comedy ever...maybe along with Sleeper, but no probably it's Withnail. I haven't watched yet, but I'm looking forward to it maybe making up for a profoundly miserable christmas. Hope everyone else is having a good one.

Saul

It's taken me 44 years to get around to watching this, so here goes. Thanks to Covid for giving me the time to finally watch this, whilst in isolation ;-)

Jason Edwards

Something decent finally for all the Mr Beans fans to watch.

Chris

Great reaction. Thanks Josh :) God I love this film. So many great and quotable lines. I hope you revisit it yourself one day, it really does get even better with subsequent views. My sister and I watch this together at least once a year. This Christmas one of my presents was a framed picture she's drawn for me of them in the pub (she's an artist) it was a lovely surprise and a fun coincidence considering I was looking forward to this Boxing Day night :) I'm glad you enjoyed it Josh, such a unique film.

BelladonnicHazeyJaneII

Glad you've finally got to watch Withnail & I. You hit the nail (no pun intended) on the head that it's a cult movie which maybe not a lot of people have seen which is why it went up and down on the polls, I didn't see it myself until about 1999/2000 despite being born in '82. There are so many quotable lines and sections of dialogue in this movie that it's difficult to pick a favourite! A few things: 1. Richard E. Grant (Withnail) doesn't drink alcohol but he got drunk one time just so he could understand what Withnail was like. 2. Withnail shouting, "Scrubbers!", is essentially calling the girls sluts. (made even worse that he was shouting it at schoolgirls!) 3. A "toilet trader" is a man who has sex with other men in exchange for money in the public toilets. 4. I think you missed it when they were describing Uncle Monty to the farmer and he said, "He ain't been here for a couple of years, last time I saw him he was with his son.", but obviously Monty doesn't have a son so the cottage is his secluded love shack.

(Just) Steve

I'd forgotten he did Shakespeare's 'paragon of animals' bit from Hamlet to the wolves at the end, Captain Picard had it when he said "what he might say with irony, I say with conviction."

Kevin Tipcorn

Brilliant film and great reaction. You're right that it's very sad. Even sadder for the fact that it's based on writer and director Bruce Robinson's own experiences with his flatmate, who was an out of work actor called Vivian MacKerrell. The Withnail character was essentially MacKerrel, who in real life had the same behaviour. Sadly MacKerrel died in his 50's from cancer, mainly due to his drink and drug taking after a failed career. The scene with the lighter fluid was based on real life when MacKerrell became blind for a few days after drinking lighter fluid, which is believed to have contributed to his throat cancer. With regards to the Monty character, this was also based on Bruce Robinson's experiences with MacKerrell's real life uncle, who was very predatory towards him. It was very decent of Robinson to portray that character as someone who was basically a broken character who's behaviour was down to having a life of sadness from unrequited love and the issues with his sexuality. The way Monty was portrayed has a moral complexity that is sadly missing from modern cinema and television, which is a shame. I'm not sure you ever will, but I hope you will revisit this movie again at some point. On first watch you miss alot of the subtleties which are revealed on subsequent viewings when you understand the characters more, and when the meaning of the story is more apparent. It's a masterpiece of understated natural comedy and human behaviour, which as you mentioned is very unique.

Jay

I'd forgotten just how much I loved this film - thanks for reminding me !

Pkirby422

No problem bud have a great day!

After Work Reactions

Awesome bud, perfect timing!

After Work Reactions

Awesome I am glad you enjoyed it! Have a great Christmas 🎄

After Work Reactions

Thanks bud I am glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you had a great Christmas 🌲

After Work Reactions

That is awesome man, sounds like a great time!

After Work Reactions

That is awesome man, I can see how they were inspired by him lol.

After Work Reactions

Awesome man, hope you enjoyed!

After Work Reactions

One for the die hards! Nice present. Thanks x

Louis Hessey-Antell

Great timing dude, I wanted to rewatch this film this zmas anyway - it's fantastic :)

Wagoo

Wh-hoo I've been waiting for this for ages! Can't wait to watch, I hope you enjoyed it. Nice Christmas present 😊

BelladonnicHazeyJaneII

Oh thank you Josh.... Nice one! I've been waiting for this for so long.. - it's like all my Christmases have come at once.

Tony Smyth

I'm lucky enough to live in the area this was filmed in and I've had the pleasure of watching this on a projector outside of "Crow Crag", the actual house from the movie. A very fun and drunken experience overall!

Jack Morgan

The inspiration behind the character Super Hans from peep show was supposed to be from Danny.

Ah, fantastic! I LOVE this film. :D

Thomas McDonald