08/24/06 Withnail & I

Withnail & I (1987), directed by Bruce Robinson

watched solo; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

I needed to get my head clear after watching two God-awful movies in a row, just for the sake of hedging a bet. This is a film that I've heard a big underground rumble about for a few years, and have always been enamored at giving it a try. What did I have to lose after the past few days?! I fell in love with this cleverly depressed and disillusioned British cult classic almost immediately. I say "almost" immediately, simply because it took me a few minutes (and sometimes with subtitles turned on) to understand what was being said by these Cockney blokes. This dark comedy is brilliant in every facet. Two life-long friends, Withnail & I (actually Marwood, but never referred to as such) are out-of-work actors scrapping to get by in a shanty of an apartment in the free & filthy 60's. Soaking most of their ambitions up in alcohol, and smoking the rest away in philosophical b.s., the two decide to take an idyllic holiday to the country to get away from it all. This leads to an odd adventure into the bounds of sanity and friendship. Withnail's famous line is that they've "gone on holiday by mistake," as the two soon realize that they know nothing about roughing it in his uncle's country cottage. The two must contend with miserably rainy conditions, foraging for food, meeting the grumpy farmer's wife, stirred up bulls, intellectual drug dealers, proper townsfolk that don't take kindly to their drunken antics, and what they believe to be a ghostly visitor. Their stay turns even more upside down when Withnail's gay uncle Monty pays a surprise visit to the men, then spouts on about flowers & poetry...and finally takes an uncomfortably amorous liking to Marwood, forcing a compromising position. The pair's friendship is mightily tested, as both have the adventure become a turning point in their lives...with their return to city life and reality showing how each man differs in his approach to life. It's an unflinching look at twenty-something life crises, with tons of wickedly clever dialogue (there are an endless stream of classic quotes) that came largely from an autobiographical perspective by then new director Robinson (who went on to deliver "How To Get Ahead In Advertising" and is now developing Hunter S. Thompson's novel "The Rum Diary"). The Criterion Collection DVD also included a great documentary many years later about the huge cult following that this film was about to produce. Sit back, enjoy the film, and "find your neutral space."

5 out of 5 stars