Withnail and I Review PIF

Withnail and I

Plot

Richard E Grant and Paul Mcgann star in a dark comedy about two unemployed alcoholic actors Withnail and Marwood, going on a quiet holiday in the countryside to get away from it all. During their outing they have problems with: the locals, Withnail’s eccentric uncle, and each other.

Philosophy

Withnail and I is a tale of pessimism and misanthropy, a tale of two out of work actors Withnail and Marwood. Both actors are ambitious to the extent where Withnail is resentful of what miniscule advancements Marwood makes. It calls to mind a quote from Schopenhauer “For if anything in the world is desirable, so desirable that even the dull and uneducated herd in its more reflective moments would value it more than silver and gold, it is that a ray of light should fall on the obscurity of our existence, and that we should obtain some information about this enigmatical life of ours, in which nothing is clear except its misery and vanity.” (The World as Will and Representation) Withnail’s obsession and desire with achieving acting stardom can be easily paralleled again to Nietzsche’s “Will to Power” Withnail is utterly uncompromising at one point refusing to understudy Constantine insisting that he should play the role. In his arrogance and refusal to stoop to the level he considers beneath him, he is miserable his only want and desire his to numb himself with drugs and alcohol. He is one stage in the film shouting out of a moving car at a stranger “Look at that, accident black spot! These aren't accidents! They're throwing themselves into the road gladly! Throwing themselves into the road to escape all this hideousness.” “Throw yourself into the road, darling! You haven't got a chance.” This speaks volumes of Withnail’s character the only value he see’s in life is the hope that one day he will accomplish his ambitions and until that day he will drink his life away to escape. Brings to mind a quote from Schopenhauer “Life has no intrinsic worth, but is kept in motion merely by desire and illusion.” Withnail’s alcoholism is also in connection to many of Nietzsche’s teachings, Nietzsche hated alcohol because he believed one should not numb their pain, alcohol assures them that they are happy and everything is fine and this prevents them from achieving. In this sense and many others Withnail is constantly getting in his own way.

Comedy

It was Søren Kierkegaard who said “as I grew up, I saw the world and I began to laugh and I haven’t stopped laughing since” he theorised that the only response to the endless pain and suffering that can come with life is to laugh at it defiantly. This can easily be applied to Withnail and I’s comedy it’s very pessimistic dry and deadpan. A joke is made of: anxiety, death, and misery I personally find it is the craft of the comedian to make the abhorrent hilarious and the more serious the subject matter the more skilled a comedian you will need to make it funny. Furthermore this movie is an absolute riot I understand I have a personal bias towards this kind of comedy and I will state for the record that though it performs this one style exceptionally well it lacks any variety in it’s humour. So if you’re not into cynical deadpan comedy this film probably isn’t for you.

Conclusion

I love this film and so would Søren Kierkegaard it’s a dark abstract and funny look into the human condition, the agony of ambition and the lengths we go to numb ourselves. I think everyone if we really think about can see some of Withnail in ourselves, whenever we’ve let pride hinder us, whenever we’ve hit the bottle in silent show of self-pity. I quite simply cannot recommend this film enough

#review #comedy #philosophy #PIF