WITHNAIL And I is 30. While I let that sobering thought sink in, it’s worth remembering just how good a film it is.
It emerged fully formed as an off-kilter cult classic in 1987 and it remains a beautifully realised comic gem. A sordid and sublime tale of friendship and lost dreams between two dissolute friends scraping out an existence in a Camden squat at the back end of the 1960s, it’s got everything going for it.
Side-splittingly funny and oddly sad at the same time it’s beautifully written, from director Bruce Robinson’s own memoirs, apparently. It’s peopled with wildly memorable lead characters, the two “resting” actors Withnail (an unforgettable Richard E Grant) and his best friend known only as I (Paul McGann) are supported by such memorable creations as the laid-back dealer and creator of the “Camberwell carrot” Danny and the camp and cuddly Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths).
It has got some hugely quotable dialogue – “I demand some booze” has become a much loved catchphrase down the years – and it boasts the kind of killer soundtrack, roaring from Jimi Hendrix to King Curtis, that all so-called cult offerings worth their cinematic salt simply have to have to qualify for the title in the first place.
Such is its standing three decades on from its original release, it’s got its own tribute night at The Black Box as part of the Belfast Film Festival this very evening. Alongside a rare screening of the film there will be prizes for best Withnail-related costumes and a chance to sample the quaint delights of an English village cafe just like our two shambolic leads do in the movie.
Set in 1969, it’s essentially a film about friendship as the 'Swinging 60s' fall off a cliff into the miserable 70s. From the squalor of squat life to the drunken aimlessness of the two leads' miserable existence, this is the ultimate antidote to the idea that London ever swung in the first place. This is a gray and hopeless place, populated with suspicious locals and greasy spoon diners.
Such is the disgust that the wildly pontificating Withnail (Grant) and the quiet, thoughtful I (an equally memorable if much more reserved turn from McGann) feel for the city that they arrange to borrow a country cottage from Withnail’s Uncle Monty to escape its depressing grasp. What they get instead, once they’ve decamped to the country with the predatory Uncle Monty hot on their trail, is a disaster of course where they stumble through the rain-sodden fields and come face to face with bewildered locals.
Made through George Harrison’s Handmade Films, it’ s a downbeat story that’s lifted by the characters and the ridiculous scenarios they find themselves in. It’s a fabulous comedy that stands up proudly to repeat viewings.
:: Celebrate 30 Years of Withnail And I as part of the ongoing Belfast Film Festival at the QFT, Belfast tonight from 7pm.
