Two unemployed actors find solace in drink and other substances. When an uncle offers them a weeks' vacation at his country estate, the two friends drive up into the wilderness where their wits and friendship are sorely tested.
Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical account of his early years as an actor has become a cult hit of massive proportions, inspiring countless numbers of young men and women to quote stars Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant and their booze-soaked dialogue. The story follows these two unemployed actors in 1969 London, as they take a holiday in the country. Trapped inside a dank, empty cabin with each other, an endless downpour of heavy rain battering their roof, the two men
form a complicated bond fueled by booze, disaster, and nihilism. Though not much happens in terms of plot, WITHNAIL AND I is one of the most subtly hilarious films to come out of 1980's Britain.
Feature film directorial debut for actor/writer Bruce Robinson, born May 2, 1946 Broadstairs, Kent.
Film debut for British actor Paul McGann, born in Liverpool, England.
Shot in Technicolor, using Dolby noise reduction.
Filmed in London, England. Rated BBFC 15 by the British Board of Film Censors.
Began shooting July 14, 1986, completed August 22, 1987.
Produced in association with Lawrence Kirstein. Copyright 1988 Heron Communications, Inc.
Additional credits: Sally Jones (script supervisor); Murray Close (still photographer); and Damson Studios (Titles). Special production consultant was Richard Starkey (better known as Ringo Starr).
Withnail And I Quotes/Excerpts:
"You shouldn't mix your drinks" -- I to Withnail (Paul McGann to Richard E. Grant) who is about to drink lighter fluid he is so desperate for a drink to keep warm.
"I demand to have more booze!" Withnail (Grant)
Withnail And I Reviews:
"...A small, wise, breezy footnote [to the 1960's]....Genuinely funny..."
-- Vincent Canby, New York Times
"...The humor is both brutal and clever, and the acting uniformly excellent..."
-- Adam., Variety
"...WITHNAIL AND I is as good to look at as it is to listen to.....A knockout directorial debut..."
-- Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
"...Never before had the antics of two boozers been portrayed as charmingly and unapologetically as in Bruce Robinson's semiautobiographical story..."
-- Erin Richter, Entertainment Weekly
5 stars out of 5 -- "Robinson's classic film about two drink-sodden out of work actors going on holiday by mistake has lost none of its poignant hilarity."-- Chris Prince, Ultimate DVD
"[I]t crackles with stoner wit and despairing self-indulgence, and confirms Richard E. Grant's caddish and cowardly sot Withnail as one of English film's great grotesques."-- Kate Stables, Sight and Sound
5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his remains essential cinema for newcomers, but beyond nostalgia there's plenty to come back to, like the gorgeously grotty production design."-- William Thomas, Empire
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