I Don’t Care What You Say, ‘Withnail and I’ Is a Love Story

Ever since its 1987 release, Bruce Robinson‘s cult classic Withnail and I has earned a reputation as an underrated and witty dark comedy. Set in 1969, the film stars Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann as Withnail and Marwood, two unemployed aspiring actors who leave their decrepit London flat for an alcohol-fueled weekend in the countryside. Even with all of its hilarious moments, Withnail and I has a touching core. Withnail and I is a love story between the two main characters, whose dynamic is simultaneously funny and tragic.

Withnail and I

Two out-of-work actors, Withnail and his friend “I,” escape their bleak London lives by taking a disastrous holiday to the countryside. Their adventure leads to a series of comedic and chaotic events, testing their friendship and sanity.

 

Release Date

June 19, 1987

Director

Bruce Robinson

Cast

Richard E. Grant , Paul McGann , Richard Griffiths , Ralph Brown , Michael Elphick , Daragh O’Malley , Michael Wardle , Una Brandon-Jones

Runtime

107 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Bruce Robinson

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Withnail and Marwood Team Up Against the World

Like with many dysfunctional relationships in movies, Withnail and Marwood are each other’s only support system. Even though much of Withnail and I’s comedy comes from the characters’ inability to properly take care of themselves, they do manage to take care of each other. In the beginning of the film, Marwood is too afraid to enter the kitchen. He grabs Withnail’s arm as if the circumstances are truly life or death, and says, “You haven’t slept for 60 hours. You’re in no state to tackle it. Wait ’til the morning. We’ll go together.” Withnail responds, “This is the morning– stand aside.” Without context, this conversation sounds a bit like the monologue Samwise Gamgee gives Frodo before entering Mordor, but the stakes of the scene are hilariously low.

In another moment, Withnail brings Marwood dinner while he is in the bath, and sits in a chair next to the tub. When Marwood asks why they are having dinner in the bathroom, Withnail explains that their dealer, Danny, is in the other room. This implies that Withnail would rather be sitting with Marwood than doing drugs, which is a surprising choice for his character. These small moments are strikingly sweet, given the begrudging dark humor of their usual banter.

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Marwood and Withnail’s intimate body language shows that they deeply trust each other. In many scenes, Marwood stands directly behind Withnail, leaning against him and looking over his shoulder. When making plans, they only use the pronoun “we.” Withnail and Marwood’s reliance on each other is obvious enough to others that they are mistaken for a couple more than once. In a scene in a London bar, the duo barely escape getting into a fight with a man who calls both of them homophobic slurs. Later, in a bar in the countryside, they attempt to buy an eel off of a poacher, and he makes a derogatory comment about Withnail’s “prancing.”

Withnail’s Feelings for Marwood Seem More Than Platonic

In several moments, Robinson and Grant hint that Withnail’s feelings for Marwood might be more romantic. While walking together one morning, Withnail casually and unironically calls Marwood “lover,” and Marwood doesn’t bat an eye. In another scene, when they are concerned about an intruder in the cottage, Withnail says to Marwood, “In both our interests, I think we should sleep together tonight.” When Marwood says, “No,” and slams the door, a look of pain and longing crosses Withnail’s face as he stares at the shut door. Later, Withnail climbs into Marwood’s bed with a gun, which he lays across them both. He says that if Marwood leaves, he will have to go with him.

Withnail and I is a quintessential dark comedy and is low on sincerity, and Marwood and Withnail often skirt around conversations about the exact status of their friendship. In the scene where they get closest to opening up about their feelings for each other, Marwood confronts a disastrous lie that Withnail told his uncle Monty, in which he said that he had romantically rejected Marwood. Withnail apologizes and says that he “got carried away.” This moment implies that perhaps the opposite had occurred. A romantic relationship is never overtly confirmed, but as with many 20th century queer stories, the viewer must read between the lines.

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Where Withnail and I directly portrays LGBTQ+ characters, it falls short. Uncle Monty, the only character who is written into the script as gay, is essentially a villain. He forcefully flirts with Marwood, including a very uncomfortable scene in which he comes close to assault. For the only canon queer character in the film to act in a predatory way is a detrimental choice for LGBTQ+ representation, and feels out of character with the loving delicacy of Marwood and Withnail’s relationship.

‘Withnail and I’ Deals With the Impact of Addiction on Relationships

Withnail and I is full of absurdity and wit, and it is also a heartbreaking depiction of recognizing when to step away from someone. Colin Farrellstated in a Variety interview with Jamie Lee Curtis that Withnail and I was an influence on his character’s doomed friendship in The Banshees of Inisherin. Over the course of the weekend trip, Marwood realizes the extent of Withnail’s destructive influence on him, and that in order to survive, he must leave this friendship behind. Despite being allergic to alcohol, Grant pulls off one of the most convincing portrayals of addiction. The hardest scene to watch is when Marwood is preparing to leave the flat, and Withnail suggests that they sit for a drink, pulling out a fresh bottle of wine. Marwood says he really must go, and Withnail says he will walk him to the train station. This desperate attempt to get his friend to stay a little longer conveys Withnail’s emotional state clearly.

The film’s dramatic moments are made more real by the fact that Robinson reportedly drank heavily while writing the script. His drinking buddy and roommate, the actor Vivian MacKerrell, who he based Withnail on, would die of alcohol-related causes years later. This true story is perhaps what gives this film such a gutting feeling at the end, as we witness Withnail in his loneliest moment, speaking a Hamlet soliloquy to the sky. When the film reaches its bittersweet ending, it is clear that Withnail and Marwood loved each other, but, like many of the best, their love story had an end date.

Withnail and I is available to watch on Max in the U.S.

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