Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Withnail & I (1986)
Director: Bruce Robinson
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A recent, laddish DVD release of Bruce Robinson’s hilarious and poignant film – complete with a ‘drinking game’ among the extras – proved that an embarrassing fanboy approach threatens to cloud the genuine worth of this unrivalled British comedy, which is being re-released under the ‘Summer of British Film’ banner. Set in London at the close of the ’60s, the film sports a biting script from writer-director Bruce Robinson and performances from Richard E Grant and Paul McGann as two ‘resting’ actors, Withnail and ‘I’, that neither has surpassed. There’s much to like: the pair’s ‘matter’-infested Camden flat; Withnail’s hysterical rants; Richard Griffiths’ endearing turn as Withnail’s sad uncle; the balance between arrogance and paranoia, humour and sincerity; the final, tender goodbye between the pair in front of London Zoo’s wolves. The wit is sharp – ‘They don’t like me being on the stage’, moans Withnail of his family; ‘Then they must be delighted with your career,’ bites back ‘I’ – and the lament to times past, friendships gone and experiences lost is affecting.Author: Dave Calhoun
User reviews of this film
-
- ROY DRAKE said...
- Posted on Sep 02 2007 21:58 A wonderfully intelligent, funny, honest and moving film that genuinely deserves its growing cult status.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Bruce Robinson
Producer: Paul Heller
Cast: Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick, Daragh O'Malley full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Rated: 15
Duration: 107 mins
UK Release: Sep 7 2007
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now