Landscape and Memory

Withnail and I – Bruce Robinson

I intend to discuss the film Withnail and I, directed by Bruce Robinson. It was released in 1987 and follows the story of two unemployed actors. Due to their lives in London not going well, such as having no heating in their house, the men decide to go on holiday to the Lake District in order to escape from reality and reconnect with the world. The Telegraph writes ‘Withnail and I was regarded for many years as a cult film but stands now as one of the finest British films of the Eighties. And what’s not to like about a film with the line: “Don’t threaten me with a dead fish”?’[1]

This is one of the reasons I chose this film. Firstly, for the exceptional critical reviews toward the film, but also because this significantly contrasted to my feelings about the piece. Originally when I watched the film I really didn’t enjoy or understand it. However after researching it and looking into why the film was made how it was, I began to understand why it is regarded as such a cult film. Moreover, the use of location throughout the film plays an integral part. This intrigue in Urban versus Rural, and the film as a whole, is the reason as to why I selected the film.

In the film, set in 1969, the two main characters are unemployed actors who spend their days drifting round their rather dreary Camden flat. To escape their alcohol and drug dealer filled lifestyle they decide to leave for Uncle Monty’s idyllic countryside house. Upon arrival, what they find is far from idyllic. With uncontrollable rain and no food the two have to rely on their basic instincts, which are next to none. Later on in the film Uncle Monty makes an unexpected arrival to the country house and has a rather obvious romantic affliction towards Marwood. This further ruins the trip as Marwood is not homosexual but Withnail spurs him on as a way to thank Monty for lending them the house. Finally, we see them head back up to London, where Marwood gets a job and moves on from his life with Withnail. This film is clearly very well thought out in terms of how location relates to the characters’ states of mind, albeit unhappy. In fact, the whole film is set under a depressed tone, only broken by the well-esteemed array of talented musicians whose music is featured throughout the film. The Telegraph describes the soundtrack as ‘lovely and full marks to George Harrison and HandMade Films for backing such an unlikely project’[2]. The music used is in keeping with the film’s time period: from popular culture in the 1960s. Examples include The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

The film explores the day to day suffering of people’s personal problems within society’s tough climate. In reaction to this, the characters engage in binge drinking, drug abuse, unemployment and live in very basic living quarters that verge on being unsanitary. We can also see the contrast between the rich and poor. This is shown in Uncle Monty, who owns a lavish London house and the country house that the two escape to. This highlights that living in 1969 was not an easy business and that there was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. The film definitely acts as a comment on the current social and economic climate. This can be seen in Figure 1.

The film received gross earnings of £565,122 in the UK and $1,544,889 in the US, and the highest of praise from many different critics, including Time Out London naming it the 7th-greatest comedy film of all time. On the other hand, The Independent says ‘Adore it or deride it – and there are, to be sure, still plenty of people who simply don’t see the point, and think that the movie is no more than a tiresome confection of drug jokes and poor slapstick – Withnail & I obviously casts a very unusual spell over its devotees’[3]. It is very much a cult film, with their audience being a loyal one, and as a result could be a difficult one to relate to for many. Moreover the film has a very specific style. Bruce Robinson, the director, was very determined to have the film made exactly how he wanted it to be. He was happy to walk away from the film if people would not let him do this. His reasoning behind this was that he has actually lived through similar events; therefore there was no point in a fake portrayal. This rang true in the scene where Uncle Monty sexually harasses Marwood. This is because Robinson alleged he suffered under the hands of Franco Zeffirelli, when he played Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. For these reasons the film can be controversial to some but also brilliant to others. However, this did not kill Robinson’s love for Shakespeare: at the end of the film there is reference to Shakespeare, when Withnail dictates a speech that is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet which shows some historical references.

There is a lot of focus on place in this film. We as the viewer look at Urban versus Rural as a theme. Neither particularly seems to stand out to the viewer, as the film is controlled by the charcaters downcast mood. There are also interim scenes of the two men driving from one to the other. The Urban life appears cluttered and claustrophobic whilst the Rural life’s vast spaces act as a detox, but fails due to dreary weather and bad luck. There seems to be no obvious favourite. It is concluded that you can drive as far as you want but social pressure and the mind are inescapable. We therefore learn during the film that the idea of a ‘place’ can be more than physical; it can also be mentally within ones self.

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