“We’re all in the gutter, but some of us are looking down the drain,” says Bruce Robinson. Withnail & I: from cult to classicnew book about his groundbreaking 1987 film This ugly quote from Oscar Wilde captures the incredibly comic forces that drove British comedy forward.
In the 35 years since its release, Robinson’s semi-autobiographical story has grown from an underground hit to one of the greatest and most critically acclaimed works of national cinema. Robinson will even make a film about it himself next year. It is this transformation that Toby Benjamin’s hefty, self-proclaimed “Bible” illustrates through pages of vibrant photographs, archival footage and graphics.
Withnail and I chronicles Robinson’s unconventional life in London in the late 1960s, when he lived in decadent poverty in Camden Town. Richard E. Grant (Withnail) and Paul McGann (Marwood) play two unemployed and forever doomed actors who navigate the fringes of society and the edge of reality in a haze of constant drunkenness.
When the two “accidentally” holiday in the Lake District, an unremarkable disaster befalls them, and along the way they encounter a host of memorable character archetypes: Ralph Brown as the dimwitted philosopher Danny, Richard Griffiths as the peerless effeminate stage actor. Jake Montague and Michael Elphick are one of several seemingly evil villagers that the two believe they have in common.
But how much of this actually happened? In fact, as described in the book, Robinson went on a disastrous, farcical trip to Cumbria with his friend Mickey Feast in February 1970: “We arrived like two explorers training in Battersea Park… Really pissed off and left without food. ” reads the original letter to his current wife, Lesley-Ann Down.
Robinson is one of the leading commentators on the book, which is both forensic and, the author suggests, evidence of the book’s “prophetic” quality. Withnail and I. Because while it is a personal story, it is also a political story, describing the decline of the 1960s and foreshadowing the political climate that will eventually lead to Brexit.
Robinson and Benjamin, who worked closely on the book, certainly see it that way. “Bruce is very funny, but his humor and personality are tinged with some residual sadness,” says Benjamin.
“He reads a lot about world events. This has an impact on people. He cares, and I think he always has. I think it upset him deeply because he knows how corrupt politicians can be and he knows what’s going on with the world. Bruce absolutely hates the Conservative Party. I’m very pleased that he addressed this issue in the foreword to the book and that it runs through the entire film like a stone.”
Robinson grew up in Broadstairs in Kent, attended Charles Dickens Grammar Modern School and then studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where he met Vivian McKerrell and composer David Dundas. Dundas composed the film’s score and also owned what he calls the “wreck of the house” in which the events that inspired the film took place.
Roommates McKerrell and Robinson were among the many tenants. The latter initially appeared to be on the path to stardom and was cast as Benvolio in the 1968 remake of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, who provided the project for Uncle Monty. However, according to Dundas, the couple soon fell into a state of “fading greatness”. “The thing is, your damn boots have enough holes and scratches in them for a bottle of red wine and a joint,” Robinson tells Benjamin.
How did the heroes get out of this terrible bonfire of vanity? “Bruce created Withnail and Viv inspired him,” explains the author. “But that’s 100 percent fiction,” Bruce becomes upset when it seems like he’s been tracking Viv with a tape recorder this whole time. This was not the case. He created both characters and they’re both in it, but I think most people probably think he’s more Marwood than Withnail.
Over the past forty years, the film’s raucous dialogue has become etched in the English psyche: Monty’s terrifying declaration of love to Marwood – “I adore you!” and a repeated invitation to drink – “chin-chin!” Perhaps most popular is Withnail’s cheeky statement: “We want the best wines available to mankind, we want it here and we want it now!”, which was voted third in a BBC poll of the best one-liners in cinema. .
Robinson’s eloquence is a theme that the cast, production team and fans return to again and again. Withnail & I: from cult to classic. They include Charlie Higson, Diane Morgan and Sam Bain, who write about their influence on his and Jesse Armstrong’s equally misanthropic TV comedy. Kinetoscope.
Literary figures such as Wilde, who of course had his eyes on the stars rather than the sewers, are said to have activated Robinson’s synapses as he leaned over his grandfather’s “unfurled Olivetti” to write the script. . In the book, he credits his roommate for inspiring him with language and history, and points to McKerrell’s daily drinking of strong coffee mixed with hashish, dubbed the “Baudelaire Principle” after the French poet.
In the film, alcohol and drugs serve as a disorienting trampoline for the couple’s reckless antics. But Withnail and Marwood are not fueled by the fiery psychedelics of our time. Instead, they drink in quantities that would impress the famous alcoholic Baudelaire and take amphetamines while shaving in the bathroom. Like McKerrell, who died in 1995 at the age of 50, they even consume lighter fluid in search of a defibrillating rush that will bring them back to life, back to the real world that is about to leave them with their abandoned souls at the beginning. new era. .
In a collection of unique roles, E. Grant especially shines as the debauched, embittered narcissist Withnail, despite a sincere aversion to alcohol. “Richard’s father was an alcoholic,” Benjamin says. “He hates it, and he’s also allergic. This makes its performance even better. He’s a great drinker.”
Elsewhere, the book describes the crucial role of HandMade Films, the company founded in 1978 by former Beatle George Harrison to financially support the production of Monty Python. Brian’s life. The company also played an important role in the creation Withnail and I. “This wouldn’t have happened without him,” confirms Benjamin. “The script was given to George before Concorde flew to New York. He came out the other side and said, “We’re doing this.”
It’s important to note that Robinson’s efforts were not motivated by sepia-toned memories of the 1960s. Turning to history – the film was made at the height of Thatcherism – he saw an opportunity to capture the drab, crumbling edifice of that famous period, as drug dealer Danny vividly portrays in the final scenes: “London is a city.” from his travels,” he explains, smoking. “Woolworths sells hippie wigs, man.”
“It was dark,” Beinamin says. “Bruce can look back and laugh, but not everything was funny. I think the older you get, the sadder the film seems. When I saw this as a student, we all parted with joy. I don’t laugh as much anymore because I see sadness more. I think he’s getting more and more sad to see what’s happened to society.”
In the foreword, Robinson frames his view of Britain’s current place on the world stage through the filter of Withnail and I. “When Uncle Monty said, ‘Fuck the Tories,’ I never thought that line would literally come true.” I never thought that Withnail’s words: “Free for those who can afford it, very expensive for those who cannot afford it.” never applicable to our unfortunate island.
From Withnail & I: from cult to classicBenjamin explains that he was determined to go through all the gold that was still out of reach of his loyal fans. There are more details about the iconic hilarious final scene in which E. Grant’s character filled a shotgun with red wine before shooting himself in the brains. Not a single shot was ever fired. Instead, the film ends in slightly less devastating style, with Withnail’s giant Hamlet soliloquy to an audience of wolves at London Zoo capping a Shakespearean tragedy that continues to resonate in cinema, politics and society today.
Source: I News
I am Mario Pickle and I work in the news website industry as an author. I have been with 24 News Reporters for over 3 years, where I specialize in entertainment-related topics such as books, films, and other media. My background is in film studies and journalism, giving me the knowledge to write engaging pieces that appeal to a wide variety of readers.