Withnail & I

(Bruce Robinson, 1986)

with Mike Lavoie, James Fauvell, Chelsea Salyer, Suzanne Heathcote, Hailey Ferber, and Carlee Briglia, 378 Bond St., 4/21/13

5

Like many cult movies, Withnail & I exudes a demented self-confidence – an unblinking conviction that every moment, no matter how inexplicable, is exactly how it’s meant to be.  There’s something captivating about that kind of assurance; it’s no wonder people feel drawn to movies like this.  As Withnail, Richard E. Grant is a phenomenon, a force – a bitter, vampiric antihero charged up with nihilistic joie de vivre.  Just when we’re certain the story is going nowhere, the ending achieves an unexpected resonance, as we realize that Withnail, like Falstaff before him, is fated to be left behind by his blander, more functional friend.  These moments have a quiet tragedy, which somehow is enhanced by Withnail‘s more surreal elements.  Maybe the film is right to believe that it knows exactly what it’s doing.