Withnail and I
| Withnail and I | |
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Original UK release poster
Art by Ralph Steadman |
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| Directed by | Bruce Robinson |
| Produced by | Paul Heller |
| Written by | Bruce Robinson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | |
| Cinematography | Peter Hannan |
| Edited by | Alan Strachan |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
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Release date
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10 April 1987 (United Kingdom) |
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £1.1 million |
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Withnail and I is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann) who live in a squalid flat in Camden Town in 1969 while squandering their finances on alcohol. Needing a holiday, they obtain the key to a country cottage in the Lake District belonging to Withnail's lecherous gay uncle Monty and drive there. The weekend holiday proves less recuperative than they expected.
Withnail and I was Grant's first film and launched him into a successful career. The film also featured performances by Richard Griffiths as Withnail's Uncle Monty and Ralph Brown as Danny the drug dealer. The film has tragic and comic elements (particularly ) and is notable for its period music and many quotable lines. It has been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".
The film depicts the lives and misadventures of two unemployed young actors in late-1969 London. They are the flamboyant alcoholic Withnail and "I" (named "Marwood" in the published screenplay but not in the credits) as his relatively more level-headed friend and the film's narrator. Withnail comes from a privileged background and sets the tone for the friendship. They live in a filthy Georgian flat in Camden Town. Their only company at the flat is the local drug dealer, Danny.
The roommates squabble about housekeeping and leave to take a walk. In Regent's Park, they discuss the state of their acting careers and a possible country vacation, settling on a visit to Withnail's uncle Monty, who has a cottage near Penrith. After a near fight with a large and belligerent Irishman, they return home to prepare for their trip. They visit Monty that evening at his luxurious Chelsea house. Monty is a melodramatic aesthete and Marwood realizes he is homosexual. The three briefly drink together as Withnail casually lies to Monty about his acting career and lies that Marwood went to Eton. Before leaving, Withnail arranges to borrow the cottage.
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Wikipedia