Plot
London 1969 - two 'resting' (unemployed and unemployable) actors, Withnail and Marwood, fed up with damp...

Release Year: 1987

Rating: 7.7/10 (17,440 voted)

Director: Bruce Robinson

Stars: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths

Storyline
London 1969 - two 'resting' (unemployed and unemployable) actors, Withnail and Marwood, fed up with damp, cold, piles of washing-up, mad drug dealers and psychotic Irishmen, decide to leave their squalid Camden flat for an idyllic holiday in the countryside, courtesy of Withnail's uncle Monty's country cottage. But when they get there, it rains non-stop, there's no food, and their basic survival skills turn out to be somewhat limited. Matters are not helped by the arrival of Uncle Monty, who shows an uncomfortably keen interest in Marwood...

Cast:
Richard E. Grant - Withnail
Paul McGann - Marwood
Richard Griffiths - Monty
Ralph Brown - Danny
Michael Elphick - Jake
Daragh O'Malley - Irishman
Michael Wardle - Isaac Parkin
Una Brandon-Jones - Mrs. Parkin
Noel Johnson - General
Irene Sutcliffe - Waitress
Llewellyn Rees - Tea Shop Proprietor
Robert Oates - Policeman One
Anthony Wise - Policeman Two
Eddie Tagoe - Presuming Ed

Taglines: If you don't remember the sixties, don't worry - neither did they.

Release Date: 19 June 1987

Filming Locations: 35 Glebe Place, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Gross: $1,544,889 (USA)

Runtime: 107 min

Trivia:
Both Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant went on to play Doctor Who. McGann was the 8th Doctor and Grant was the 9th (in the 2003 animated webcast Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka), though his status was changed to "unofficial" when the new series of Doctor Who started in 2005. He also played an incarnation of the Doctor in the Comic Relief skit Comic Relief: Doctor Who - The Curse of Fatal Death. Coincidentally, Richard Griffiths was once strongly considered to succeed 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy, but this was never realised after the series was cancelled in 1989 and McCoy's Doctor later regenerated into Paul McGann's in the 1996 TV movie. Griffiths had also previously been considered to succeed 4th Doctor Tom Baker in 1981.

Goofs:
Continuity: As the boys are driving OUT of London there is a light blue Ford Transit van. It is also there when they are driving BACK to London at the end of the film. Same number plate as well.

Quotes:
Withnail: I will say one thing for Monty, he keeps a sensational cellar!

British film-making at its best.

Rating: 9/10

Camden, 1969. Two unemployed actors, Withnail (Richard E Grant), and I (Paul McGann), are facing up to the reality of an empty wine cellar and a harsh comedown following a speed binge. Squalid living conditions and the prospect of life on the poverty line leads 'I' (otherwise known as Marwood), to suggest a rejuvenating break in the Lake District. After Withnail manages to persuade his bizarre uncle, Monty (Richard Griffiths) to part with the keys of his dilapidated cottage, the take the Jag north for a taste of country life.

Adapting to such an alien environment is an initial challenge to the highly strung Withnail; his predicament is significantly worsened following an altercation with poacher Jake (Michael Elphick). Meanwhile, Marwood is forced to concentrate his attentions to fending off the advances of the lecherous Monty, who has inconveniently come to stay.

Following an awkward evening, the pair hurriedly return to London and, after a run-in with the Metropolitan Police, return to find Danny (Ralph Brown) has made himself at home. Drugged rodents fill the oven while Presuming Ed fills the bath and Marwood is rescued from the mire - it seems he will crack the boards after all. "Congratulations", Withnail says emptily, as he begins to contemplate life without his straight man.

Bruce Robinson deserves high praise for creating a rich, debauched world of weird thumbs, phenodihydrochloride benelex, old suits, uncontaminated urine and the Camberwell carrot. WIth a the tightest of budgets, he brings the late 1960's to life. The script is incredibly witty and eminently quotable. Both Mary Selway (casting director) and Bruce Robinson succeeded in bringing dialogue to life with an impeccable choice of actors. Richard E Grant has never come close to his performance as Withnail - his drunken performances are remarkable. Richard Griffiths is as camp as a hat as the overbearing, exuberant Monty, and Ralph Brown is frequently hilarious as the dangerous but lovable Danny.

This is a film that will never be tarnished by age, and neither is it limited by repeat viewings. It is a very accessible film, despite its largely English humour, and 'Withnail' remains one of the best films about friendship. Certainly a one off, 'Withnail' is a must see film that will not disappoint.

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