WITHNAIL AND I

I’ve no idea why it took me so long to get around to seeing this beloved 1987 film but it was well worth the wait.

Mind you it’s a bit of an oddity in having no real story arc as such.  We simply follow the drunken escapades of struggling actors Withnail and "I" - mostly fish-out-of-water adventures in the depths of the countryside where they have ventured in order to take advantage of the generosity of Withnail’s Uncle Monty.

Alcoholism really isn’t a laughing matter but Richard E Grant’s performance is a comic tour de force which is well nigh impossible to resist.  I hope I never get so stuffy as to not find funny the scene in the tearoom, which features the immortal line “We want the finest wines available to humanity! We want them here and we want them now!". 

Actors considered for the role of Withnail included Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis and Bill Nighy.  I'm sure they would all have been good in their own ways but really it's hard to imagine anyone else but Grant in the part, making his film debut in spectacular fashion.   

He even manages to inject a surprising amount of pathos into the final scenes, when "I"  leaves him to take up a part in a play in Manchester.  This is a less dark ending than that in the source novel where Withnail commits suicide, although one can easily imagine such an outcome for him at some point in the future.

But hey, Withnail wouldn't want your pity, so let's not end on such a downbeat note but instead salute this joyous little gem of a film.

RATING: ✓✓ Catch It If You Can