Synopsis
Two out-of-work actors -- the anxious, luckless Marwood and his acerbic, alcoholic friend, Withnail -- spend their days drifting between their squalid flat, the unemployment office and the pub. When they take a holiday "by mistake" at the country house of Withnail's flamboyantly gay uncle, Monty, they encounter the unpleasant side of the English countryside: tedium, terrifying locals and torrential rain.
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Cast
- Richard E. GrantWithnail
- Paul McGann...& I
- Richard GriffithsMonty
- Ralph BrownDanny
- Michael ElphickJake
- Daragh O'MalleyIrishman
- Michael WardleIsaac Parkin
- Una Brandon-JonesMrs. Parkin
- Noel JohnsonGeneral
- Irene SutcliffeWaitress
Recommendations
- 100
The Telegraph
Grant's delivery of mordant mutterings is superb. The lines, from Bruce Robinson's semi-autobiographical script, are an oddball joy and mostly involve drink and the inevitable hangover. - 100
BBC
Withnail & I has an air of authenticity only reality could give, and Robinson could only tell MacKerrell's story once. There could never be another Withnail. - 100
The Guardian
It had a miraculously literate script whose every line deservedly became a quotable classic and the film boasts a once-in-a-lifetime combination of perfect performances from Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant as the loafing actors heading for a terrible bucolic weekend, Ralph Brown as drug-dealing Danny and Richard Griffiths as predatory Uncle Monty. - 100
Time Out
Withnail only gets better with time. Yes, it’s funny, but it’s also tender and sad too, from the arresting sound of Procul Harum’s ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ in the opening scene to the final, rainy farewell between Withnail (Richard E Grant) and his unnamed friend (revealed as ‘Marwood’ in the screenplay and played by Paul McGann) in the last scene in Regent’s Park. - 100
Empire
Fans can mouth the words of Grant's big speeches along with him, relishing every viperish turn of phrase...this is and always will be a perfect dark comedy and a student staple. - 100
Chicago Sun-Times
Conveys the experience of being drunk so well that the only way I could improve upon it would be to stand behind you and hammer your head with two-pound bags of frozen peas. - 88
TV Guide Magazine
A hilarious black comedy and already something of a cult favorite. - 80
The Guardian
This is a ramshackle, exuberant affair, peppered with larger-than-life inhabitants, ludicrous scenes and quotable dialogue that have long since grown worn from frequent use.
