1987 | United Kingdom | Fiction

Withnail & I (Withnail and I)

  • English 107 mins
  • Director | Bruce Robinson
  • Writer | Bruce Robinson
  • Producer | Paul Heller

STATUS: Released

This film is currently not available.   

The ultimate cult British comedy, Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical cinematic bender is a feast of delectably florid dialogue delivered with deadpan relish by stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann as, respectively, Withnail and “I,” a pair of perpetually soused, unemployed actors in 1960s London who, desperate to escape their nightmarishly grimy flat, embark on a hilariously misbegotten country getaway beset by menacing locals, bare cupboards, and a randy uncle—all of which they may be able to withstand as long as they don’t run out of alcohol. While Robinson’s dazzling script yields quotable moments galore, it’s the film’s bittersweet evocation of a friendship gradually unraveling that gives this beloved end-of-youth tale its lasting poignancy.

Cult Comedy Friendship Bohemian Countryside
Film Organizations
The Criterion Collection
DISTRIBUTION