Customer Reviews

Withnail & I (BFI Modern Classics)

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Withnail & I is by far my favorite movie from the 1980s, and this book is a very literate critique of Robinson's film. The BFI series includes scene-by-scene analyses of movies, and it's remarkable the things in the film that Jackson uncovers. But his affection for his subject informs his discussion throughout, and this love easily draws you into the Withnailian world as he sees it, giving the reader a new layer of pleasure with which to enjoy this classic of British cinema.

This is a good little book about the film "Withnail and I." The structure of the book is built around a synopsis of the entire movie, describing exactly what the viewer sees. Interspersed amidst the story are paragraphs analyzing each scene, anecdotes from the making of the film, the evolution of the script, and parallels to screenwriter Bruce Robinson's own life. There are also small pictures, both in color and black and white, mostly stills from the movie.

Though at first glance it seems to be just a drunken lads' comedy, "Withnail and I" is a brilliant film that really does stand up to the minute examination of literary criticism. The book compares it with Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Dickens, and centuries of literary precedents. It's fascinating! It also examines the visual and technical aspects of the film, with lighting, camera lenses, sound quality, etc.

And it's also amusing. It's not so pompous or stuffy that it forgets the movie is a comedy.

I only wish that the book were longer and examined the film even more in-depth. I also wish the author had conducted interviews with the people involved, instead of just using excerpts from past interviews or memoirs printed elsewhere. This slim volume reads like a text for a college/university class that has one or two class periods assigned to "Withnail." I want something longer, something that would fill a month, a semester even! I WANT SOMETHING'S FLESH!