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Withnail & I

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Withnail & I

Name: Withnail & I
Director: Bruce Robinson
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 1986
Duration: 1 h 42 min
Cast: Richard E Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown (2), Michael Elphick

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Comedy
Drama

1986
Bruce Robinson
102 mins
18

Summary

Cult black comedy starring Richard E Grant, Paul McGann and Richard Griffiths. It is 1969 and as the turbulent decade draws to a close, two out-of-work actors share a cold and cluttered, run-down north London flat. With no money and in poor physical and mental shape, they visit Withnail's wealthy, eccentric uncle who gives them the keys to his country cottage for what turns out to be an eventful weekend.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Sue Heal

This great little film launched the career of Richard E Grant and has since developed into a cult classic. Grant and Paul McGann play two dissolute out-of-work actors in 1960s London, slowly unravelling under the pressures of obscurity and determined substance abuse. Tiring of the baroque squalor of their Camden flat, the drink- and drugs-sodden pair decamp to a cottage in the Lake District ("We've gone on holiday by mistake") where they struggle to survive the weather and the lecherous Uncle Monty (the wonderful Richard Griffiths). Hilarious and poignant, this was written and directed by Bruce Robinson (who wrote the screenplay for The Killing Fields), based on his own experiences as a struggling actor.

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7.5/10

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Cast

rolenameWithnailRichard E Grant... and IPaul McGannMontyRichard GriffithsDannyRalph Brown (2)JakeMichael ElphickIrishmanDaragh O'MalleyIsaac ParkinMichael WardleMrs ParkinUna Brandon-JonesGeneralNoel JohnsonWaitressIrene SutcliffeTea shop proprietorLlewellyn ReesFirst policemanRobert OatesSecond policemanAnthony WisePresuming EdEddie Tagoe