Withnail and I is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, respectively) who share a flat in Camden Town in 1969. Needing a holiday, they obtain the key to a country cottage in the Lake District belonging to Withnail's eccentric uncle Monty and drive there. The weekend holiday proves less recuperative than they expected.
Withnail and I was Grant's film debut and established his profile. Featuring performances by Richard Griffiths as Withnail's Uncle Monty and Ralph Brown as Danny the drug dealer, the film has tragic and comic elements and is notable for its period music and many quotable lines. It has been described as "one of Britain's biggest cult films".[4]
The character "I" is named "Marwood" in the published screenplay but goes unnamed in the film credits.[5]
Plot
In September 1969, two unemployed young actors, flamboyant alcoholic Withnail and contemplative Marwood, live in a messy flat in Camden Town, London. Their only regular visitor is their drug dealer, Danny. One morning, the pair squabble about housekeeping and then leave for a stroll. In Regent's Park, they discuss the poor state of their acting careers and the desire for a holiday; Marwood proposes a trip to a rural cottage near Penrith owned by Withnail's wealthy uncle Monty. They visit Monty that evening at his luxurious Chelsea house. Monty is a melodramatic aesthete, who Marwood infers is homosexual. The three briefly drink together as Withnail casually lies to Monty about his acting career. He further deceives Monty by implying that Marwood attended Eton College ("the other place"), whilst a lithograph of Harrow School seen earlier in the flat suggests that both Monty and Withnail were educated there. Withnail persuades his uncle to lend them the cottage key and they leave.
Withnail and Marwood drive to the cottage the next day but find the weather cold and wet, the cottage without provisions and the locals unwelcoming—in particular a poacher, Jake, whom Withnail offends in the pub. Marwood becomes anxious when he later sees Jake prowling around the cottage and suggests they leave for London the next day. Withnail in turn demands that they share a bed in the interest of safety but Marwood refuses. During the night, Withnail fears that the poacher wants to harm them and climbs under the covers with Marwood, who angrily leaves for a different bed. Hearing the sounds of an intruder breaking into the cottage, Withnail again joins Marwood in bed. The intruder turns out to be Monty, with supplies.
The next day, Marwood realises Monty's visit has ulterior motives when he makes aggressive sexual advances upon him; Withnail seems oblivious to this. Monty drives them into town and gives them money to buy wellington boots but they go to a pub instead, and then to a small cafe where they cause a disturbance. Monty is hurt, though he forgets the offence as the three drink and play poker. Marwood is terrified by the thought of Monty's further sexual overtures and wants to leave immediately, but Withnail insists on staying. Late in the night, Marwood tries to avoid Monty's company but is eventually cornered in the guest bedroom as Monty demands sex. Monty also reveals that Withnail, during the visit in London, lied that Marwood was a closet homosexual. Marwood lies that Withnail is the closeted one and that the two of them are in a committed relationship, which Withnail wishes to keep secret from his family and that this is the first night in six years that they have not slept together. Monty, a romantic, believes this explanation and leaves after apologising for coming between them. In private, Marwood furiously confronts Withnail.
The next morning, they find Monty has left for London, leaving a note wishing them happiness together. They continue to argue. A telegram arrives from Marwood's agent with a possible offer of work and he insists they return. As Marwood sleeps in the car, Withnail drunkenly speeds most of the way back until pulled over by the police who arrest him for driving under the influence. The pair return to the flat to find Danny and a friend named Presuming Ed squatting. Marwood calls his agent and discovers he is wanted for the lead part in a play but will need to move to Manchester to take it. The four share a huge cannabis joint but the celebration ends when Marwood learns they have received an eviction notice for unpaid rent, while Withnail is too high to care. Marwood—with new haircut—packs a bag to leave for the railway station. He turns down Withnail's offer of a goodbye drink, so Withnail walks with him to the station. In Regent's Park, Marwood reciprocates Withnail saying that he will miss him, and then leaves. Alone with bottle of wine in hand, Withnail performs "What a piece of work is a man!" from Hamlet to the wolves in a nearby Zoo enclosure, and then turns to walk home in the rain.
The film is an adaptation of an unpublished novel written by Robinson in 1969–1970 (an early draft of which sold at auction for £8,125 in 2015).[6][7] Actor friend Don Hawkins passed a copy of the manuscript to his friend Mordecai (Mody) Schreiber in 1980.[citation needed] Schreiber paid Robinson £20,000 to adapt it into a screenplay,[citation needed] which Robinson did in the early 1980s.[citation needed] When meeting Schreiber in Los Angeles, Robinson expressed concern that he might not be able to continue because the writing broke basic screenplay rules and was hard to make work as a film.[citation needed] It used colloquial English to which few Americans would connect ("Give me a tanner and I'll give him a bell."); characters in dismal circumstances and a plot prodded by uncinematic voice-overs. Schreiber told him that that was precisely what he wanted.[citation needed] On completing the script, producer Paul Heller urged Robinson to direct it and found funding for half the film.[citation needed] The script was then passed to HandMade Films and George Harrison agreed to fund the remainder of the film.[8] Robinson's script is largely autobiographical. "Marwood" is Robinson; "Withnail" is based on Vivian MacKerrell, a friend with whom he shared a Camden house and "Uncle Monty" is loosely based on Franco Zeffirelli, from whom Robinson received unwanted amorous attentions when he was a young actor.[9] He lived in the impoverished conditions seen in the film and wore plastic bags as Wellington boots.[citation needed] For the script, Robinson condensed two or three years of his life into two or three weeks.[10] Robinson stated he named the character of Withnail after a childhood acquaintance named Jonathan Withnall, who was "the coolest guy I had ever met in my life".[11]
Early in the film, Withnail reads a newspaper headline "Boy lands plum role for top Italian director" and suggests that the director is sexually abusing the boy. This is a reference to the sexual harassment that Robinson alleges he suffered at the hands of Zeffirelli when, at age 21, he won the role of Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet.[12] Robinson attributed Uncle Monty's question to Marwood ("Are you a sponge or a stone?") as a direct quote from Zeffirelli.[13][14] The headline "Nude au pair's secret life" was an actual headline from News of the World on 16 November 1969.[15]
The end of the novel saw Withnail dying by suicide by pouring a bottle of wine into the barrel of Monty's shotgun and then pulling the trigger as he drank from it. Robinson changed the ending, as he believed it was "too dark".[16]
Name of "I"
"Marwood"? A telegram arrives at Crow Crag
While the name of "I" is never spoken in the film, in the screenplay it is "Marwood". The name "Marwood" is used by Robinson in interviews and in writing as well as by Grant and McGann in the 1999 Channel 4 documentary short Withnail and Us.[13][17][18][19] The name "Marwood" was known to film critic Vincent Canby of the New York Times in a 27 March 1987 review coinciding with the film's New York premiere at the New Directors/New Films series at the Museum of Modern Art.[20] In the end credits and most media relating to the film, McGann's character is referred to solely as "...& I". In the supplemental material packaged with the Special Edition DVD in the UK, McGann's character is referred to as Peter Marwood in the cast credits.[citation needed]
It has been suggested that it is possible that 'Marwood' can be heard near the beginning of the film: As the characters escape from the Irishman in the Mother Black Cap, Withnail shouts "Out of my way <indistinct word>!". Some hear this line as "Out of the way, Marwood!", although the script reads simply "Get out of my way!".
Although the first name of "I" is not stated anywhere in the film, it is widely believed[by whom?] that it is "Peter". This myth arose as a result of a line of misheard dialogue.[21] In the scene where Monty meets the two actors, Withnail asks him if he would like a drink. In his reply, Monty both accepts his offer and says "...you must tell me all the news, I haven't seen you since you finished your last film". While pouring another drink, and downing his own, Withnail replies that he has been "Rather busy uncle. TV and stuff". Then pointing at Marwood he says "He's just had an audition for rep". Some hear this line as "Peter's had an audition for rep", although the original shooting script and all commercially published versions of the script read "he's".
Towards the end of the film, a telegram arrives at Crow Crag on which the name "Marwood" is partially visible.
McGann was Robinson's first choice for "I" but he was fired during rehearsals because Robinson decided McGann's Scouse (Liverpool) accent was wrong for the character. Several other actors read for the role but McGann eventually persuaded Robinson to re-audition him, promising to affect a Home Counties accent and quickly won back the part.[23]
Though he plays a raging alcoholic, Grant is a teetotaller with an allergy to alcohol. He had never been drunk prior to making the film. Robinson decided that it would be impossible for Grant to play the character without having ever experienced inebriation and a hangover, so he "forced" the actor on a drinking binge. Grant has stated that he was "violently sick" after each drink and found the experience deeply unpleasant.[27]
Filming
Sleddale Hall, the location used as Monty's cottage. This photo dates from 2007. The hall was restored in 2011–2012.
According to Grant's book, With Nails, filming commenced on 2 August 1986 in the Lake District and shooting took seven weeks. A rough cut was screened to the actors in a Wardour Street screening room on 8 December 1986.[28]Denis O'Brien, who oversaw the filming on behalf of HandMade Films, nearly shut the film down on the first day of production. He thought that the film had no "discernible jokes" and was badly lit.[24] During the filming of the scene in which Withnail drinks a can of lighter fluid, Robinson changed the contents of the can between takes from water to vinegar to get a better reaction from Grant.[29] The film cost £1.1 million to make.[1][a] Robinson received £80,000 to direct, £30,000 of which he reinvested into the film to shoot additional scenes such as the journeys to and from Penrith, which HandMade Films would not fund. The money was never reimbursed after the film's success.[30]Ringo Starr is credited as a "Special Production Consultant" under his legal name, Richard Starkey MBE.[22]
Cumbria
The film was shot almost entirely on location. There was no filming in the real Penrith; the locations used were in and around nearby Shap and Bampton, Cumbria. Monty's cottage, Crow Crag, is Sleddale Hall, near the Wet Sleddale Reservoir just outside Shap, although the lake that Crow Crag apparently overlooks is Haweswater Reservoir. The bridge where Withnail and Marwood go fishing with a shotgun is over the River Lowther. The telephone box in which Withnail calls his agent is beside Wideworth Farm Road in Bampton.[31]
Sleddale Hall was offered for sale in January 2009 with a starting price of £145,000.[32] Sebastian Hindley, who owns the Mardale Inn in Bampton, won the auction at a price of £265,000 but he failed to secure financing and the property was resold for an undisclosed sum to Tim Ellis, an architect from Kent, whose original bid failed at the auction.[33]
Hertfordshire
Exterior and ground floor interior shots of Crow Crag were shot at Sleddale Hall in Cumbria and Stockers Farm in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, and the bedroom and stair scenes of Crow Crag were also filmed in Hertfordshire. Stockers Farm was also the location for the Crow and Crown pub.[34]
Buckinghamshire
"The King Henry" played by the Crown Inn. The great elm tree outside the pub and shown in the film subsequently died of Dutch Elm Disease and has been replaced.
The King Henry pub and the Penrith Tea Rooms scenes were filmed in the Market Square in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, at what is now The Crown Inn Stony Stratford and Cox & Robinson pharmacy, respectively.[35]
London
Withnail and Marwood's flat was located at 57 Chepstow Place in Bayswater, W2. The shot of them leaving for Penrith as they turn left from the building being demolished was shot on Freston Road, W11.[34] The Mother Black Cap pub was played by the Frog and Firkin pub at 41 Tavistock Crescent, Westbourne Green, Notting Hill. For some time after the film, the pub was renamed the Mother Black Cap, though it was sold and renamed several times before being demolished in 2010–2011.[35][36] The cafe where Marwood has breakfast at the beginning of the film is located at the corner of 136 Lancaster Road, W11 near the corner with Ladbroke Grove.[34] The scene where the police order Withnail and Marwood to "get in the back of the van" was filmed on the flyover near John Aird Court, Paddington.[34] Uncle Monty's house is actually the West House, Glebe Place, Chelsea, SW3, owned by Bernard Nevill.[37][34][35]
The film score was composed by David Dundas and Rick Wentworth.[22] The film features a rare appearance of a recording by the Beatles, whose 1968 song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" plays as the titular duo return to London and find Presuming Ed in the bath. The song, written and sung by George Harrison, was able to be included in the soundtrack due to Harrison's involvement as a producer.[39]
"Withnail's Theme"–David Dundas and Rick Wentworth–2:40
Reception
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 8.40/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann prove irresistibly hilarious as two misanthropic slackers in Withnail and I, a biting examination of artists living on the fringes of prosperity and good taste."[40]
Film critic Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies list, describing Grant's performance as a "tour de force" and Withnail as "one of the iconic figures in modern films".[41]
In 1999, the British Film Institute voted Withnail and I the 29th greatest British film of all time.[50] In 2001, Withnail and I was ranked 38th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films poll.[51] In 2008, the film was ranked number 118 in Empire's 500 Greatest Films of All Time list.[52] A 2009 poll by The Guardian among film critics and filmmakers voted it the second best British film of the last 25 years.[53] In 2011, Time Out London named it the seventh-greatest comedy film of all time.[54] In a 2014 poll, readers of Empire voted Withnail and I the 92nd greatest film.[55]
In 2016, Games Radar voted Withnail and I the 16th greatest comedy film of all time.[56] In a 2017 poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine, the film was ranked the 15th best British film ever.[57] The line "We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now", delivered by Richard E. Grant as Withnail, was voted the third favourite film one-liner in a 2003 poll of 1,000 film fans.[58]
There is a drinking game associated with the film.[59] The game consists of keeping up, drink for drink, with each alcoholic substance consumed by Withnail over the course of the film.[60][61] All told, Withnail is shown drinking roughly 9+1⁄2 glasses of red wine, one-half imperial pint (280ml) of cider, one shot of lighter fluid (vinegar or overproof rum are common substitutes), 2+1⁄2 measures of gin, six glasses of sherry, thirteen drams of Scotch whisky and 1⁄2 pint of ale.[62][bettersourceneeded]
In 1992, filmmaker David Fincher attempted to create an unofficial reunion of sorts, when he attempted casting all three of the film's main characters in Alien 3. McGann and Brown appeared; however, Grant turned down his role, which eventually went to Charles Dance, who played the character of Clemens in the "spirit of Withnail".[63][self-published source?]
In 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported the film (and the associated drinking game) had achieved cult status prior to its home video re-release in the United States.[64]
In 2007, a digitally remastered version of the film was released by the UK Film Council. It was shown at over 50 cinemas around the UK on 11 September, as part of the final week of the BBC's Summer of British Film season.[65]
In 2010, McGann said that he sometimes meets viewers who believe the film was actually shot in the 1960s, saying "It comes from the mid-1980s, but it sticks out like a Smiths record. Its provenance is from a different era. None of the production values, none of the iconography, none of the style remotely has it down as an 80s picture."[66]
Paul John McGann is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial The Monocled Mutineer (1986), then starred in the dark comedy Withnail and I (1987), which was a critical success and developed a cult following. McGann later became more widely known for portraying the eighth incarnation of the Doctor in the 1996 television film Doctor Who, and its audio drama continuations. He is also known for playing Lieutenant William Bush in the TV series Hornblower (1998–2003).
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marielle Heller's drama film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), winning various awards including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
Bruce Robinson is an English actor, director, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote and directed Withnail and I (1987), a film with comic and tragic elements set in London in the late 1960s, which drew on his experiences as a struggling actor, living in poverty in Camden Town. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Killing Fields (1984).
Doolin is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in its pubs, making it a popular tourist destination. There are numerous nearby archaeological sites, many dating to the Iron Age and earlier. Doonagore Castle and Ballinalacken Castle are also in the area. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht prior to the 1950s, and maintains a connection with Irish-speaking areas - including via its maritime connection with the Aran Islands.
Lord David Paul Nicholas Dundas is an English musician and actor, best known for his chart success in the pop genre during the 1970s as well as his later career in film and television scores.
Richard Thomas Griffiths was an English actor. He was known for his portrayals of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films (2001–2010), Uncle Monty in Withnail and I (1987), and Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994–1997). Over his career he received numerous accolades including a Tony Award and Olivier Award as well as a nomination for a BAFTA Award. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008.
Shap is a village and civil parish located among fells and isolated dales in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. The village is in the historic county of Westmorland. The parish had a population of 1,221 in 2001, increasing slightly to 1,264 at the 2011 Census.
Vivian Alan James MacKerrell was a British actor of the 1960s and 1970s. He was the basis for the character of Withnail in the film Withnail and I.
Shap Rural is a very large, but sparsely populated, civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria in England, covering part of the Lake District National Park. It had a population of 119 in 2001, 130 at the 2011 Census, and 110 in 2021.
Charles William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Ireland, and 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam in the peerage of Great Britain, was a British nobleman and politician. He was president three times of the Royal Statistical Society in 1838–1840, 1847–1849, and 1853–1855; and president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in its inaugural year (1831–2).
The One That Got Away is a 1996 ITV television film directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Paul McGann. It is based on the 1995 book of the same name by Chris Ryan telling the true story of a Special Air Service patrol during the Gulf War in 1991.
Sleddale Hall is a farmhouse on the north side of the Wet Sleddale valley near Shap in Cumbria, England. It featured as "Crow Crag", Uncle Monty's Lake District country cottage in the cult film Withnail and I.
A film à clef is a film describing real life, behind a façade of fiction. "Key" in this context means a table one can use to swap out the names.
Rick Wentworth is a British film and TV composer, conductor, orchestrator and arranger.
John Anthony Mackswith is an English sound engineer.
Ghost Story is a 1974 British mystery film directed by Stephen Weeks and starring Marianne Faithfull, Leigh Lawson, Larry Dann and Anthony Bate. Although set in England, the film was almost entirely shot on location in India, much of it at Bangalore Palace, owned by the Maharajah of Mysore. The film features a rare performance from actor Vivian MacKerrell, who was later the inspiration for Withnail in Bruce Robinson's Withnail and I (1987). The story and screenplay are by Philip Norman, Rosemary Sutcliff and Stephen Weeks and music is composed by Ron Geesin.
West House is a Grade II* listed Queen Anne revival house at 35 Glebe Place, Chelsea, London. It was built in 1868–69 by the architect Philip Webb, on behalf of the artist George Price Boyce. It was extended in 1876 by Webb, and in 1901 by an unknown architect. Historic England have described West House as "one of the earliest examples of the Queen Anne Revival style". West House possesses one of the few triple-height ceilings in London.
Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK is a large format book by Monty Python, released in 1979 to tie in with their film Monty Python's Life of Brian. As the title suggests, it consists of two separate books joined together. The first contains the film's screenplay, illustrated by black and white stills. On the reverse side is the scrapbook, which contains a variety of material such as scenes cut from the film, newly written material plus unrelated items, including the lyrics to Bruces' Philosophers Song. The book was assembled by Eric Idle, with assistance from Michael Palin.
Peter Hannan is an Australian cinematographer who spent the majority of his career in Great Britain.
Withnail and I is a play by Bruce Robinson, based on the 1987 film of the same name also by Robinson.
↑ Robinson, Bruce (1999). Withnail and Us. Channel 4. Event occurs at 1:31. The movie takes place over, um... you know, two or three weeks and the reality of the story was over two or three years.
↑ Robinson, Bruce (1999). Withnail and Us. Channel 4. Event occurs at 3:43. The reason he's called Withnail is because when I was a little boy, um, I knew this bloke named Jonathan Withnall N-A-double-L and I 'cause I can't spell I called him 'Nail'. And he backed his Aston Martin into a police car coming out of a pub car park. And he was like the coolest guy I had ever met in my life so, consequently, that name stayed in my... my head.
↑ Grant, Richard E. (1999). Withnail and Us. Channel 4. Event occurs at 5:34. Paul McGann's character is Marwood, uh, but he's only referred to as 'I' in the story.
↑ McGann, Paul (1999). Withnail and Us. Channel 4. Event occurs at 6:02. Marwood was always like that little grain of sand...
↑ Grant, Richard E. (1999). Withnail and Us. Channel 4. Event occurs at 12:35. I've got pictures to prove it. I've never been fat. [...] I think that's part of the 'auteur' self-worship that directors indulge themselves in. [...] Bollocks to that!
↑ Calhoun, Dave; Huddleston, Tom; Jenkins, David; Adams, Derek; Andrew, Geoff; Davies, Adam Lee; Fairclough, Paul; Hammond, Wally; Kheraj, Alim; de Semlyen, Phil (10 September 2018). "The 100 best British films". Time Out. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
↑ Jonze, Tim (14 November 2011). "My favourite film: Withnail and I". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2011. I have to confess, I first heard about Withnail and I in terms of a drinking game – could you watch the film while matching the two lead characters shot for shot, pint for pint, Camberwell carrot for Camberwell carrot?
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