WITHNAIL & I

UK | 1987 | DCP | 105 min.
Director: Bruce Robinson
Cast: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths
In 1969, Withnail (Grant) and Marwood (McGann) are London flat mates, unemployed actors living in an alcohol and drug-fueled squalor. Desperately seeking a change of scenery, the pair embark on a sojourn to a countryside cottage owned by Withnail’s Uncle Monty. Once in the country, the fish-out-of-water pair find themselves woefully ill-equipped at keeping themselves warm and well fed, managing to offend everyone they meet. Things go from bad to worse when Uncle Monty (a sublime Griffiths) shows up with amorous intentions towards Marwood. Robinson’s directorial debut is a seriously besotted comedy, filled with big laughs and scenery almost too lush to chew. (BR)