How do we make it dead? (Withnail And I (DVD))

Member Name: andrewl

Product:	Withnail And I (DVD)
Date:	19/02/04 (456 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Paul McGann, Richard E Grant

Disadvantages: dialogue problems

The first thing to say about Withnail and I is that it's a film of such blinding truth that the human genome project are almost certainly going to find it encoded in the DNA of any human male who has ever been either an actor or a student. I watched the film for the first time this afternoon, and yet I was able to quote along with it on several occasions. How is that possible?

It's because it's become a cult, of course, and I've unconsciously picked up half a dozen pages of dialogues simply through sitting in student bars. But unlike a lot of things that have become cult favourites, Withnail and I is actually extremely good.

In his first film, Bruce Robinson demonstrates the power of simplicity. The two main characters, Withnail (Richard E Grant) and his friend Marlowe (Paul McGann, never actually given a name throughout the film, but I'm not going to call him I throughout this review, I would get confused), are unemployed actors. They survive on booze and pills in a squalid flat. Marlowe is the sensitive and articulate one, and Withnail is, well, Richard E Grant basically, a wild-eyed posh maniac.

After wandering round their flat for a bit and then nearly getting beaten up in a pub by the bloke who was Sargeant Harper in Sharpe, the pair decide to get out of the city for a week in the country, borrowing the keys to an eccentric uncle's cottage.

Once in the country, they wander round for a bit having wacky adventures with terrifying locals until Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) shows up to attempt to seduce Marlowe.

Then they go back. That's about it, plot-wise.

Although the aimless wandering and fish-out-of-water elements are a bit reminiscient of Lost in Translation, which I reviewed just the other week, this film is above all a comedy. A hilarious comedy, but often quite dark in its humour. For today's viewer it is impossible to watch without thinking of The League of Gentlemen,
with the mixture of dark comedy and gentle pathos, particularly with Richard Griffiths's predatory homosexual character. Not to mention all the odd rural inhabitants. They're not exactly cliched country folk, as they are far too odd, from the 'retired alcoholic' landlord to the poacher ('Don't threaten me with a dead fish') - but it's fair to say that they are not exactly fully-fleshed characters. The atmosphere is of a slightly surreal world that has been created so that Withnail and Marlowe can wander through and sneer at it drunkenly.

To sum up their styles, Withnail looks like Dracula with a hangover and Marlowe looks like a pretty version of a Gallagher brother. Amusingly, Paul McGann has turned up to Liz Hurley's parties impersonating Liam Gallagher and singing Wonderwall in the past.

It is all about these two central characters and their interaction. The chemistry between the two leads is awesome, with depths to the relationship that are never really defined. At times Marlowe truly seems to despise Withnail, but there is a genuine bond between the two that is often touching, particularly towards the end.

And this is a very good thing, because undisputed classic as it is, much of the film's dialogue is actually pretty poor. The lines are highly quotable, but often very self-consciously so. The opening scenes as the friends argue about the washing up sometimes seem extremely stilted and self-aware, like a play written by students who want to be seen to be being cool. In many ways it starts off like a poor production of 'Art'. But then people start drinking lighter fluid and it's all OK.

In fact, most of the dialogue is probably as torturous, but after a while the compelling performances cause you to believe in the action, such as it is.

The soundtrack is fantastic. Possibly as George Harrison helped finance the film. 'While my Guitar Gently Weeps' appears to
wards the end, which is one of my favourite Beatles songs, and there's a fair smattering of funky guitar stylings from Hendrix as well.

The filming is also extraordinary. Robinson revels in poor weather. The British countryside has been presented in many lights on the screen, even doubling for North Korea in Bond films, but I don't think I've ever seen it quite as DAMP as in Withnail and I. It's not a question of simply turning on a rain machine during close-ups, every effort has been made to bring out the lush greenery of the rural setting. And quite how the crew managed to train a bull, I have no idea. The 'shooting fish' sequence is even better than watching Gollum slide down a river in The Two Towers!

To go into detail about scenes from the film would be to spoil them for the uninitiated, and to bore people who have already seen the film. I will highlight the 'We've come on holiday by mistake' line, as I think it's brilliant, but otherwise all you really need to know is that it's an alcohol-fuelled series of mild comic disasters in London, the countryside and London again. With terrific performances.

And just at the end, when you think you understand the two characters and their misanthropic ways, the climax throws you slightly off-kilter. In the rain, as ever, Withnail suddenly delivers a poignant rendition of Hamlet which really encourages you to consider his character in a whole new light. But I don't like spoiling endings, so I won't.

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DVD
DVD is shiny. And the 'Withnail and I' DVD is no exception. A nice illustrated disc depicting the two leads slumped moodily against a gate will unfold some very funky animated menus in sepia, matching the mood of the squalid flat. You can watch the film, which is of course glorious, and you can opt to include the commentary, which is fantastic. Paul McGann especially is a funny bloke.

The obligato
ry trailer is also in there, and manages to capture the essence of the film (through a rapid flurry of shots of people drinking).

And there's a cool documentary as well about the making of the film and its legacy. I don't tend to enjoy these featurettes, but it was well put together, so it's well worth a look if that behind the scenes stuff interests you.

Otherwise, buy the DVD anyway. It's a great film and deserves to be discovered by each successive generation. I hope those members who are at university now will think of it next time they clean their gunk-encrusted sinks ('What is it?' 'Matter')

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