9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
not just a vapid actors view of the 1960s, April 15, 2007
This is not, as others have mentioned merely a vapid view of the 1960s or a drunken homoerotic frolic in an English countryside. It represents all those men and women who have battled long and hard to achieve some sort of authenticity. Withnal wants to act in something worth while, 'I' wants to do the same but has much more class and is not locked into a decaying and fluid so called post modern world, represented by collapsing buildings they both visit and live in, decayed old pubs inhabited by violent drunken louts who want to hurt and maim in their pain of loss. Then there is their old Jaguar one eye one window wiper and two very drunk survivors. This is a meditation on the qualities of past values and modern chaos. The end leaves one sad and uncomfortable as Withnal speaks from Shakespeare 'what a piece of work is man', the irony is almost too hard to bear as Withnal speaks to a wolf behind the zoo bars and as rain upon rain washes away the old world. This a film everyone should watch and is for anyone who wonders about the old, the nostalgia for the past and the new modern and careless world of today. The wolf pacing in front of the zoo bars mirrors the human pacing outside the fence, both are locked into their worlds. Withnal is beautiful in his aloneness and 'I' works to represent those that can make transitions from old values to new worlds, but does he lose something in the process? The musis is also fantastic and I wish I could buy and album of the music, the initial saxaphone rendition of a whiter shade of pale is beyond beautiful. Watch it at least 10 times.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Actually about eight stars********, August 20, 2006
This is Robinson's masterpiece, the 'semi-autobiographical' (or at least based-on-aspects-of-his-life) tour-de-force which passed the critics by but which garnered itself a well-deserved cult following.
It follows the paths of two struggling out-of-work actors at the end of the sixties - penniless, bitter and nurturing a nasty fear that a great decade has just passed them by. It's like a wonderful stage play but without the confines of the stage. The adventures move off into the countryside and back to London. There are no special effects to distract you, just the tools needed to take the plot along to it's inevitable conclusion.
Withnail and Marwood (whose name is never actually used in the film) curse and whine their way through life, blaming everybody and everything for their failure. "No fridge, no TV, nothing that ordinary people take for granted..! I'm a trained actor.. ..reduced to the status of a bum!"
I believe that this movie 'hits the nail on the head" (oh, sorry) with at least four classes of audience:
1) those in the theature business. The theatircal references are a scream, even to the rehearsal-type line repetition when Witnail is under threat. The great sweeping statements. "I don't want to understudy that greasy pimp, I want to PLAY the part. Anyway, I hate all those Russian plays - full of women staring out of the window and watching ducks flying to moscow."
2) those who have ever likewise looked into the mirror and come face-to-face with failure, and decided that the only thing to do is to go down kicking and screaming. Everybody is to blame for Withnail's lack of success - except himself of course.
3) those firmly in the closet with the door bolted from the inside. (This is possibly the greatest "staying in" movie, but I would have to leave that to your own charactor asessment).
4) The boozers - those attempting to put a force-shield of alcohol between them and life's unpleasant truths. Every time our two heros enter a pub they become very businesslike in their attepts to blot out reality "OK, two pints of bitter, two pints of larger - ice in the larger - and two double vodkas..."
The characterization is fantastic, Withnail and Marwood are wonderfully convincing (although larger-than-life), and they have a life that seems to extend beyond the ending credits - I can (and have) daydreamed about them a year later, a decade later, perhaps meeting by chance at some backstage party thrown by mutual friends, Withnail coming up to Marwood and saying bitterly "Congatulations,you were wonderful.." and then dissapearing out of the stage door to try to scrape together some hopeless project for next year's fringe with a talentless little starlet he's met an audition.
Not only that, but it seems as though every line in the film is quoteable. Marwood especially is likely to deliver something in a way that makes it sound like it might have come from Shakespeare or Bernard Shaw "A coward you ARE, Withnail! An expert on bulls you are NOT!"
Grant and McGann are excellent in their roles, my only complaint being that they are so realistic in their renditions that you have to strain to catch some of their hilarious mutterings throughout the movie.
There is quite a bit of London vernacular (slang to you, mate) which might pass some audiences by. I have heard a US version of the movie, and they appear to have deleted one scene which refrences the conflict in Northern Ireland in an insensitive way but to have left all the dialogue relatively unchanged. There is also a deal of foul language, but as it fits so well with the characters it feels entirely justified, even required.
Much recommended if you happen to like well played theatre which don't fit the standard film genres, or if you fit into one of the above catagories. Most people will either love it or hate it within the first few frames.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the funniest films ever made, February 16, 2006
This film is a cult masterpiece.
Richard Grant and Paul McGann capture perfectly the narcissistic vapidity of actors dedicated to being famous and avoiding work. The performances are wonderful. The film side splitting.
Robinson made a memorable picture and it deserves to be out on DVD.
Anyone seriously interested in comedy should check this out.
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